The Night Haunters
by Savage324
Summary: Danielle doesn't know what's happening, suddenly she's awaken and is craving blood. She's only now remembering the horror that had brought her here. And now she has a choice: stay and become something that no sane person would become, or run like hell was following her at her heels. What did this to her and why has her mind in a tailspin, and now she is remembering the answer. R&R!
1. Cheating Death

The lights glared down on Danielle, pressing into her head with the worst migraine she'd ever felt. Everything was blurred, tears were welling up in her eyes. Danielle heard her heart pounding in her chest, and felt a burning on her hand.

She gasped at the sudden pain and the sight of smoke rising from her open palm. With a jerk, Danielle tore her hand to her chest and cupped it with her other hand, massaging away the pain. Before she knew it, the pain was gone and with it any vestige of burn marks. _What the hell is going on?! _she thought as she trembled away from where her hand had been burning. She could smell food from the floor below as if it were in front of her, and it felt that every nerve in her body was on overdrive. Everything was brighter then the last time shed opened her eyes, and it was all clearer too. How Danielle got into the hospital was beyond her at the moment, the strange things that were happening to her were scaring the hell out of her. Danielle was panicking, but she never panicked over anything...what was wrong with her? Had they drugged her?

Danielle took a deep breath and tried to focus on how he got here and why she was in a hospital. She remembered walking down a dark alleyway in her native city of New York, and that she'd been coming back from a friends party a tad tipsy.

Then she remembered it all, like the shroud that had been covering her mind was suddenly lifted away, and instantly she regretted even trying to remember..

* * *

_Two nights before:_

"Ok, ok, mom! Chill out, it was just a party, " Danielle said softly, trying to calm her over protective mother down, "I'll be home in like fifteen minutes."

"Hurry home, sweetheart," Danielle's mom said in a way that made Danielle know that she was smirking, "The sooner you get home, the sooner I can take away that gorgeous new phone your using right now."

"Really, mom? Why the phone? Why not my tv or my laptop?" I pleaded in a soft voice.

"If you don't hurry home in fifteen minutes, it'll be all of the above, sweetheart," Danielle's mom said.

"Fine," I sighed, "You know I love you mom, right? I'm sorry I blew curfew, I'll see you soon."

"I love you too, sweetheart, " mom said, followed by the muffled deep bass voice of Danielle's father, "and Dad loves you too!"

With a half smile on her face, Danielle hung up and stuffed her phone in her military-style jacket and continued down the long alleyway. The familiar sounds of stray cats, police sirens, and cars passing on the street filled Danielle's ears. She breathed in the same scent of pollution, fast food leftovers, and coffee and let loose a long drawn out exhale. She knew that her parents loved her with all their hearts and that they didn't like to punish their only child. But it still stunk when it happened.

Danielle crossed her arms over her chest against the cold, and shivered quietly. The end of the alley was visible now, the street at it's exit shining with melted snow, and the the lights of a Chinese takeout place glowed in neon green on the fat end of the road. There was a taxi idling at the curb across from it, it's white exhaust rising from it's tailpipe in a small cloud blown by the slight breeze.

then a loud and startling _clang_ sounded behind Danielle. With a gasp of shock she whipped around and looked down the alleyway. She looked at the fire escape and caught sight of the blurry figure falling in a blur for the ground, spinning end over end before landing With a stomach churning _crunch _as the figure landed on his head and right shoulder. Danielle rushed to the figures side and dropped to her knees.

"Oh God..." She whispered, "oh God, oh God, oh God..."

She pushed away the shaggy black hair that covered the figures face, and Danielle saw his beard was covered in blood the slightly oozed out of his mouth and nose. His strong jaw was slightly opened, his hazel eyes empty of life. The way that the man laid sprawled on the ground told Danielle that he was dead, so did the bump the pushed against his skin, which was a part of his neck. Danielle nearly vomited was she grasped at her jacket for her phone to dial 911.

But she didn't get the chance to do anything before she felt a needle plunge into her neck. Danielle turned around just before the sedative dragged her into unconsciousness. She saw a tall man kneeling behind her, wearing a leather jacket and black T-shirt. He had a angular jaw, strong cobalt eyes, and swept up dirty-blonde hair. Then the world went black.

It was probably an hour before Danielle, groggy and bleary-eyed, lifted her head. She was laying on a soft and comfortable couch. She propped herself up onto an elbow and rubbed her neck where the needle had punctured her artery. Danielle looked around the room. The was a fireplace with burning logs illuminating the old fashioned furniture. The room looked as if someone had taken it from a civil war mansion. Books lined the walls, a tray of alcoholic drinks was on the coffee table in front of the couch Danielle was laying on. Every piece of furniture was leather cushioned and built of dark wood, accented by brass. There were two chairs on the far side of the coffee table.

Danielle sat up and looked around for anyone else. When she looked behind the couch she heard a strange, breeze-like sound behind her. She whipped around and nearly screamed at the sight of the two men were in the chairs in front of her.

"Hello, Danielle," said the blue eyed one in a mellow voice, "My name is Nick."

"But your _dead_," Danielle said, stunned as she laid eyes on the shaggy haired man, "Your neck was friggin snapped!"

He just smiled, "We have a proposition for you, Danielle. You have a choice to make. No pressure, but it's mostly life or death at this point."

"The choice is between these two vials," Nick said smoothly, revealing a vial of a red viscous liquid in each hand, "One will grant you eternal life and many...gifts. The other is a poison that will put you to sleep and then kill you."

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Danielle screamed, jumping to her feet and running away, looking for an exit.

Suddenly, the room was filled with the same strange sound Danielle had heard in the alleyway. Then, in a flash of blurs, all doors were covered by two people. All of them were standing with legs shoulder width apart and arms crossed over their chests. There were six of them in all, their faces locked in a emotionless expression. Of the six, two of them were girls. The men were built and muscular, jaws set with tension, and their eyes looked hollow. The girls looked no less deadly then the men, one had her curled brown hair pulled back into a pony tail with high cheekbones, and the other let her straight blonde hair spill out onto her shoulders. When Danielle ran as fast as she could for one of the doors, she was quickly thrown back into the room. _This is the worst nightmare ever, _Danielle thought as she slowly went back to the couch, defeated. Danielle plopped down onto the couch, her arms hugging her chest as she eyed the two men in front of her with distaste.

"The one that's in my left hand is vampire blood. You drink that then you will become one of us. The others the poison that will bring you death. You have to choose or my friends will have a nice dinner party with you..." Nick said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his thighs.

"_Vampire blood_?!" Danielle exclaimed, "What's wrong with you people? You take innocent people off the streets into a creepy mansion just to make them choose between life and death? And life is vampire blood, well, news flash: Vampires aren't real. What did I do to any of you anyway?"

"We've been watching you, Danielle. Everyone here has been chosen to join us, because we all showed potential." responded Nick

"who's this 'us' you're talking about?" Danielle asked confused

"All in due time, Danielle," Nick said patiently, "Speaking of time, you have about five minutes left before my friends make it for you."

"So the only way I can get out of this is if I become one of you? I can't just leave?" Danielle whimpered, willing herself not to look to scared.

"Yes," the shaggy haired one said, "that's it."

"I...I...don't want to die," Danielle said, her breath caught in her throat. Then Nick shrugged and rose from his seat. He slowly made his way around the table between them and sat next to Danielle, a solemn look on his face.

"Remember, Danielle, we gave you a choice, ok?"

"Neither option sounds particularly fun, Nick," she said hitting his name with as much distaste as possible, "But I'd rather drink blood for the rest of my life then die..."

With a small nod, Nick placed the vial in her hand. Danielle held the test tube like vail in her palm and tipped it over, watching at the blood slosh around. It slightly glinted in the light spilling from the fire. Danielle took a deep breath and unscrewed the cap to the vial. Danielle looked over to the two men, the two vampires, before her. Nick was watching intently, like he was on the verge of jumping to his feet. The other one was eyeing her passively, a fist under his chin. Both seemed interested in the moment when the blood would slip past Danielle's lips. She was scared, and breathing heavily. All she coils think about was the blood in her hands, the smell of iron causing her to wrinkle her nose slightly. Then, as she trembled slowly, Danielle drew the vial to her lips and tipped it up, swallowing every drop...

* * *

Danielle blinked. She'd snapped back from her revere. She was breathing raggedly as she sat up, drawing her knees in and hugging them. The smell of blood next to her enticing her gaze. There was a patient beside her, blood stained clothes folded on a table next to his bed. There was a blood bag hanging from a stand and also on te table next to the clothes. Danielle rose slowly, sluggishly stammering towards the bag, everything else blurring besides it. Danielle couldn't stop herself and reached for the bag on the table.

But before she could rip into the warm, enticing blood, Danielle heard foot steps coming towards her room. Danielle dashed for her bed as fast as could and before she knew it she was in it, she was a blur just like those vampires had been.

A hospital nurse knocked slightly, then entered with a smile on her face, "How are you, miss Johnson?"

But Danielle couldnt hear her over the sound of the nurses blood pulsing in her veins. Before she could think, Danielle blurred and sunk her teeth into the nurses wrist. the nurse's scream was muffled by Danielle's hand as her blood was drained. Then Danielle looked her on the eye

"You will be quiet. And you wont be afraid of me," she said with conviction.

"I wont be afraid," the nurse softly repeated.

then Danielle bit down on the nurses neck. Letting the blood gush into her mouth as she closed her eyes. At first it tasted of copper, metallic and sharp, but as soon at the second gulp was down, it was the most delicious thing that Danielle had ever tasted in her 17 years of life. When Danielle opened her eyes, her gaze fell upon her reflection in a mirror across the room. At the sight of her, Danielle dropped the nurse, who was lightheaded and sat onto the empty bed, and blurred to it for a closer look.

The whites of her eyes had become the deepest of reds, her icy blue irises standing out completely. The skin under her eyes had a web of dark, apparent veins which pulsed randomly. Then a pain like the worst tooth ache in the history of the world hit her where her canines were. Danielle whimpered and moaned with the pain, which started to wear off. Then Danielle heard the sound of bone sliding and opened her eyes again. Her canines were replaced by long needle like fangs. Her mouth and chin were dripping with blood, her breath came out as ragged, animalistic growls. Her eyes were still the same. The only word that seemed to sum up what she felt about herself was: _monster._

Danielle sobbed at what she was seeing happening to her, everything that was wrong seemed to wash over her as she fell to the ground and sobbed. She crawled slowly to the nurse, and drew herself up to sit next to her. She was a small thing, with small arms and flowing brown hair. She had black eyes that held no fear, she didn't make a sound.

Danielle looked into her eyes with the same conviction, "You are going to bring me six blood bags and put them in your purse. Then you are going to give me your purse. When you are finished sit back down next to me."

"I'll be right back, ok?" The nurse said cheerfully

"Oh, and dress your wounds before you go," Danielle added

"ok!" The nurse said placing a large bandage on each of her bites. Then she left the room acting the same as she had as she'd entered. Danielle hugged her knees again, And felt the worst pity for the nurse and guilty for how shed used her. A pit had formed in her stomach as she realized there was still the blood bag on her bed. Danielle suddenly was happy as she took the bag, ripped of the cap, and drank from it. The taste washed over her and she let out a long breath of satisfaction. Danielle squeezed every last ounce of the bag and threw it away from her when she'd finished. She stared at the empty blood bag at her feet. _Did I really just enjoy drinking blood? _though Danielle, stunned to silence. She had just drank a bag of blood like it was the best drink in the world. Danielle shook her head in disbelieve at what she'd done, pick up the empty bag between her thumb and index finger then dropped it in a nearby trash bin. Danielle wanted to throw up due to the fact that she had blood in her stomach, but she didn't feel like it. She thought of the taste of the blood and suddenly was craving more, far more then just one blood bag. All she could think about was blood. It's taste, smell, how it flowed, what it looked like, how it felt. Her thoughts were cut off by the nurse entering the room.

"I'm back, sweetheart," the nurse said, walking in with three blood bags in each hand and her purse slung on her shoulder. She slid the purse onto the bed next to Danielle, and placed the blood bags next to it, unzipped the purse before sliding the blood bags into the leather bag. After that, the nurse promptly slid next to Danielle, just where she was before she'd left, and placed the purse in Danielle's lap. The nurse looked expectantly at Danielle, her eyes still holding no fear.

"Now," Danielle begin with the same conviction, "you will sign me out of here and when you see me leave, you will forget this ever happened. The bites were from a stray dog."

"Well," the nurse said happily, "It looks like you healthy enough to go, sweetheart."

"That's great!" Danielle said, picking up her cloths from the foot of her bed, "shall we?"

With a nod, the nurse started towards the door, Danielle in tow. They were at the front desk before Danielle realized, and soon she was out the door. The daylight was fading, and so was Danielle's headache. Her teeth weren't in pain, the blood she'd drunk had filled her like a buffet. She felt powerful, strong and fast, it seemed that everything was enhanced. Danielle heard a conversation about football to her left, but when she looked the two men were thirty yards away, yet, they sounded as if they were right in front of her. She could see perfectly in the darkness as if someone had turned the brightness of everything up to maximum. The slight breeze carried the scent of beer, and when Danielle followed the scent like a bloodhound, she found it close to four blocks away from where she had started. Danielle felt ecstatic at the realization of her new abilities. She tried running as fast as she could from one side of a fifty foot strip of concrete and instantly covered the distance. Danielle was giggling now, thanking whatever did this to her.

Suddenly, Danielle sensed someone behind her and whipped around in a blur. She gasped at what she saw. There, standing before her with arms crossed and a smirk on his far was Nick. He wore the same leather jacket as the last time she'd seen him, and a pair of dark blue jeans.

"Have you fed yet?" Nick said, his face suddenly flush with seriousness.

"Fed? That's what you call drinking human blood like a vampire?" Danielle said sounding a tad upset.

"Well," Nick said, "You are a vampire now, Danielle."

"wha...what?" Danielle whispered, all the limited knowledge of vampires flashing through her mind, "What does that mean for me?"

"You'll never grow old, which is one of my favorites," Nick said, "Also you have to drink blood to live, sunlight kills you, stakes to the heart too. I could go on, but I need to get you to your new home."

"but what about my family? My home?"

Nick looked at Danielle with a serious, compassionate face, "You're dead, Danielle."


	2. A Strange New World

**Author's Note: By the way, in this story the vampires can control when their fangs come out, and if their eyes get all crazy-looking. Just wanted to make that clear. PM me any suggestions for the story. Thanks!**

"What?" Danielle said, a spike of confusion washing over her, "No I'm not dead! I'm walking around, breathing air! I'm alive and this is all just a bad nightmare that I'll wake up from soon."

"No, you're dead, Danny," Nick said, trying to sound truthful, "I snapped your neck myself last night. That's how you become one of us, a vampire. You died with vampire blood in your system, so you came back a vampire."

Danielle stared daggers at him, crossing her arms over her chest. She was getting upset at how sincere Nick was sounding, she felt her canines lengthen and sharpen. She drew back her upper lip in a half smile to covertly show off her menacing fangs. Her teeth gleamed in the moonlight, a shade or two lighter then her skin.

"I don't know whats wrong with me, Nick," Danielle said, "But I'm _not_ one of you, and I never will be. And only my brother can call me Danny."

"You have to believe me, Danny," Nick said, ignoring her last comment and handing her the mirror that used to be in Danielle's makeup bag, "Look at yourself, for crying out loud."

Danielle took the mirror with a flash of frustration and was slightly in disbelief at what she saw. She looked the same as the Danielle Johnson from two nights ago, but there were subtle differences that contradicted that. Her fair skin was as pale and flawless as her mother's porcelain display in their living room. Her eyes, which were usually a calm beautiful ice blue, held something new and scary in them in them: the look of a predator, the deadly knowledge that she was a deadly killer. Danielle's face was framed by jet black, lazily curled hair, and a chill went through her spine at the contrast between it and her skin. Her high, prominent cheekbones had shadows under them, and her mouth was slightly open as her breath left her in small rasps and formed white clouds in between her and Nick. Danielle was getting confused, and frightened. Those differences scared her even more with every passing second, but she couldn't feel more alive! She felt stronger, faster, and powerful, not the frail semi-popular seventeen-year-old that she was forty-eight hours before. Energy seemed to flow through her just as her blood did, filling every part of Danielle's body.

Danielle's gaze went back to her eyes, her cold icy eyes. her eyes had adjusted to the dark, the pupils dilated so much that there was only a small rim of blue. The collection of changes to Danielle overwhelmed her and a lump as forming in her throat, threatening to stop her already light breathing, and she blinked back heavy tears. Danielle had always been the one in her group of friends to be the strongest, never showing if anything negative ever phased her. She'd always stood up for her friends in every situation, she'd always been the first to go to their sides with her fists raised. Always was the shoulder to cry on when there was a nasty break up with a friends relationship or if a loved one was lost. Even when her older brother had died in a car accident, she held her own grief aside and helped her family through the tough time, only shedding tears in the middle of the night into her soft, plush pillow. Anytime her friends were asked about Danielle, they all would say how strong she was in a tough situation and how she always knew what to say and do.

Then, Danielle, who had never cried in front of anyone, broke into a soft sob and fell onto Nick's chest. He caught her, and embraced her, saying random things to make Danielle stop crying. She pretty much ignored him, continuing to sob into his t-shirt, the things he was saying sounded muffled, and inaudible even to Danielle's new improved hearing. She breathed in Nick's unique scent. He smelled like the forest would, fresh and strong, moist and lush. Danielle was grateful for the comfort Nick offered, surprised that she wasn't that embarrassed at her loss of self-control

"Sorry, usually I don't cry all that much," She said in a small voice as she pulled back from Nick, "Wait, why was I at the hospital? Why didn't you just leave me at your old looking house?"

"Because we wanted to give you a fresh start, Danny. We brought you to the hospital to be pronounced dead, since you kind of were. After, your parents came by that morning and saw you there with no pulse or anything, they let go. We did that so you didn't have to break the ties to your old life, which was the hardest part of most of us to do. to leave behind everyone and everything wed ever known to become something we never even knew existed. Plus, hospitals have a lot of warm bodies and blood bags," Nick chuckled.

"Like these?" Danielle suddenly smirked and shot a hand into the leather purse she had in her arms, and pulled out one of the blood bags she had the nurse bring her and handed it to Nick, "I guess you can have some if you like."

"Not as squeamish as i would have expected," Nick laughed, taking the bag and opening it, "Usually girls throw up the first few times they fed because they think to hard about what they are doing, guys too. But, you're more like me, you don't mind it seems."

"Oh, I mind," Danielle said with a stifled laugh, "But i guess after the first time i just didn't care, i guess."

Danielle took out another bag and opened it, giggling as she made a toasting motion with it before taking in a big gulp, "I cant believe I'm standing in the middle if a hospital parking lot with a guy that snapped my neck, and drinking blood like a Capri-Sun."

Nick chuckled and drank another sip from his bag, "Weirder things have happened to me, but i know what your taking about."

"So," Danielle said, tapping her middle finger nervously on her bag, "What's going to happen to me now?"

"Ah," Nick sighed, "The question every new vampire has asked me for the past fifty years. Well, Danny, I'm going to escort you to that old house you woke up in. then, once we are there, all your questions will be answered."

"Who will be there?" Danielle asked, a little uneasily.

"Your new family," Nick said with a dazzling white smile.

He turned and headed towards the populated area of the parking lot near the back doors. There, Nick opened the door to a black Camero that must have been made years ago. Nick bent over the seat, and turned the key into the ignition. The engine growled to life and died down to a nice purr. Nick straightened up and walked over to the passenger side door. Danielle was pleasantly surprised when her opened the door for her. With a small, but bright smile Danielle ducked into the car and settled into the comfortable upholstered seats of the old car. Nick shut the door and went around the front of the car and swung into the drivers seat and shut the door as he did in one smooth motion.

The Camero was a smooth ride, seeming to glide through the glimmering streets of New York. Every little detail jumped out at Danielle like she's never seen them before, despite the fact that she knew the city as well as her own room. Neon lights were brighter then the last she'd seen them, casting brilliant colors onto any lustrous surface. Danielle noticed that the deep, dark shadows that those signs caused were bright enough so that she could see through them. She saw a homeless man, slouched under a cardboard hut with a bottle in one gnarled hand. Farther down past the man she could see a woman with knotted brown hair and filthy skin dig through the trash, a hopeless expression in her mocha brown eyes. Danielle felt a strong pity for those two, and looked away quickly before it could get worse. Nick took her straight up north, passing through the remaining parts of New York without much conversation, which Danielle was glad for since she wouldn't know what to say anyway. All she could think about was what had happened to her in the past two days, and what that had done to her. She just felt different then how she felt on her way back home.

_Home. They must be so heartbroken, _Danielle thought with a pang of guilt. She hadn't thought about how her decision would affect them. How sad it would make them to lose their baby girl, especially not four months since the death of their first son. Danielle sighed heavily as she thought about what she'd left behind without thinking. Her friends, her normal life filled with boring school work and after school activities. Parties that she snuck off to because she had nothing else better to do. She had never been a rebellious teen, but she did break the rules from time to time. Her friends had always affectionately called her a goodie-to-shoes, saying it in a way that told Danielle that they envied her life. Everyone had known Danielle somehow from school, most of them because of her looks. Her eyes startled many people with how light a blue they were, hair black hair making them seem even brighter. Danielle's hair was always lazily curled and she sometimes had died a strip of it a beautiful shade of dark red. That was Danielle's reputation, a beautiful and nice girl that would Always do the right thing.

"We're here," Nick said, snapping Danielle out of her revere.

Looming in front of them was a late 19th century mansion, with two lines of large windows. It had large double oak doors flanked by stone pillars. The windows looked like they were made of tempered glass, framed with dark wooden accents that separated the windows into small squares. There were two stone steps that led to the doors, and Danielle noticed there was a crest over the doors, a "N" with a line cutting it in half. The entire house was painted a dark shade of brown, almost black, and so was the roof. A red brick chimney rose from each side of the house, smoke rising in the moonlight.

Nick opened the for of Danielle, and helped her out of the car. The night was chilly, and would've made Danielle shiver after a lengthy ride in a heated car, but she wasnt bothered at all, she just nearly noticed it. Danielle rose out of the car just as the lights flicked on in the house, and the forts opened to reveal a tall man with wide shoulders, and a strong angular face. He beckoned for Danielle, and Nick guided her gently to him, a serious look on his face.

"Ah, Nick," the man said with a deep voice, "So you've brought our new sister?"

"Yes, Michael," Nick said with a tone of respect, "Her former name was Danielle Johnson."

Michael nodded his thanks and reached for Danielle, "We have been expecting you, my dear. We are all eager to met you."

"Wait," Danielle said slightly confused, "Why did you mean my 'former name'? That _is_ my name."

"Danielle Johnson died two days ago, my dear," Michael said calmingly, "You are a new person now, a strong hunter. We believe in a fresh start from your past life. You can be who ever you wish to be. But, if you can't decide on who that will be, then the one who have you his blood will choose for you. And, knowing Nick as much as I do, I think he's already come up with one."

"I...I don't understand," Danielle said with a small voice.

"Well, most will just shorten their past name. For example, Nick's name used to be Nicholas Peterson, but he wished to be called Nick for short. It became his name. What will you choose? You can't change it as soon as you do, I'm afraid, unless everyone unanimously agrees."

Danielle gave it some thought, then with a small breath she said, "It's 'Danny'. It's what my brother called me before he...passed."

"Danny," Michael said, tasting it, "I like it. Come, I'd like you to meet your new family."

Danielle, no, Danny stole a glance at Nick as she followed Michael into the huge house. He was smirking at her choice, and his eyes showed his approval as he followed behind her.

Danny followed Michael into the living room, and instantly recognized it as the old looking room shed woken up in a day before. The fire looked the same, spilling a soft orange light onto the beautiful furniture. The books were slightly tarnished but looked as if they were from when the house was built, dust was slightly gathering on them. There were artifacts on display around the room and the house. Masks, skulls, sculptures, also pair of sabers crossed in an "X" behind the same crest Danny had seen on top of the door. There were portrait paintings of dignified looking men and women here and there on the walls, framed in sculpted wood.

Michael motioned for the couch Danny had woken up on the night before with a soft smile. She looked back at Nick for advice, and he nodded that it was ok to sit. Danny sat in the same spot as last time we was here, Michael sat on her right and Nock plopped down on her left.

"Everyone, our new arrival is here, could you please come to the meeting room," said Michael said without raising his voice, more an order then request. Danny's heightened hearing picked up many footfalls throughout the house, heading towards where Danny, Nick, and Michael sat.

A man and woman entered the room, followed by three men and another woman. They all wore boots of some kind, black padded pants, black shirts with half of them wearing a leather jackets with wide hoods. The girls both had hourglass figures and strong muscles, and everyone of the men were extremely built, their clothes barely containing their muscles Everyone of them looked the same since the last time Danny had seen them when they had covered the doors before Danny had chosen to Turn, all with hard edged expressions of confidence in their eyes, like how Danny saw in her eyes after she'd drunk the nurses blood. Other then that, they all looked at her with acceptance and happiness, like they were meeting a long lost cousin. The girls hugged Danny tightly, and the guys either shook her hand or given her a side hug, but everyone was smiling. And Danny felt like she belonged her, she must have if these people were already treating her with such care, like she was one of them.

The two girls sat in the two chairs in front of Danny, two guys sat on a couch to Danny's right, and the rest either stood or paced around the room, but every pair of eyes was looking at Danny. The blonde girl had gorgeous deep green eyes and a soft smile, and a tanned skin tone. She sat with legs crossed and arms on her thighs as she leaned slightly forward in anticipation. The brown haired one was more relaxed, her eyes like rich chocolate. Her high cheekbones were clearly defined.

"These two lovely ladies before you are Elsa," Michael said, pointing to the blonde one, "and Alex."

"Nice to finally meet you," They both said in unison, both smiling. Danny smiled back.

"My name's Aaron," said one of the men on the couch. He had wavy dark hair and black eyes. He was slightly slouching, legs crossed with an forearm on the armrest. He had a square jaw and a small smile. He looked very dignified, and respectable.

Michael pointed towards a pair of guys that stood leaning next to one another near a painting, "the two brother's are Mark and Adam."

The two guys stood and bowed, saying with unison, "The pleasure is ours."

Mark was slightly taller then his brother, with wide shoulders, short sandy blonde hair and blue-green eyes. Adam had his brothers eyes, but his frame was slightly smaller and his hair was a light brown. They both smiled at Danny, their eyes full a confidence, and happiness.

"Name's Tony," said a smug looking man in a leather jacket, "so very pleased to finally meet you, my lady."

Tony, more slender then the rest of the guys, looked at Danny with a wide smile. He had slightly bushy eyebrows, stunning black eyes, a shock of black hair, and an aurora of confidence that it seemed to ooze out of him. He was leaning on the door frame with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"And last, but certainly not least," Nick said with a small flourish pointing to the shaggy haired guy next to Aaron, "Mr. Dead-Man-Walking himself, Jake."

"Oh shut up, Nick," Jake chuckled then he turned to Danny, "Glad we can finally have a formal introduction."

"So your the guy that fell from the roof?" Danny said with a suppressed laugh, "Well, you scared the Hell out of me."

Jake laughed, "Well, for that, I am sorry."

"My friends," Michael said, "I'd like for you to let Danny in with open arms as your new sister. She begins tomorrow, I want her to go with you on your next assignment. Are there any objections?"

"No," the rest of the vampires said in unison.

"Good," Michael said with a small, "Nick, could you show Danny to her room?"

"It would be my pleasure," Nick said rising and holding a hand for Danny.

Danny took it as a thought occurred to her, "But I don't have any clothes. Their all in my room back at my home. Can I go back and get them?"

"I'm afraid not, my dear," Michael said sadly, "You cannot go back home ever again. There should be some clothes in the closet though. I would think that they would fit."

"Oh, ok," Danny said, "Well, it was great to meet all of you finally."

"the feelings mutual all around, Danny," Aaron said with a smile, "Sleep well."

Danielle smiled and followed Nick to a flight of dark wood stairs and down a small hall that was decorated just like the living room. The floors were the same wood as everything else, but they didn't creak like Danny would think they would. Nick stopped in front of a brown door that had a brass colored spherical door knob. Nick opened the door smoothly to reveal a white walled light colored room. It looked just like Danny's old room with pale furniture, a window dresser and a closet with a white door. Danny just stopped and looked at the room, then smiled.

"It's beautiful, Nick," she said softly.

"Glad you like it. And if the clothes don't fit we can always buy some more. Sleep well, Danny."

Danny sat down on the soft bed, and watched as Nick left with a smile. Danny laid back and swung her feet over the edge and laid still. She laid a hand behind her head and the other on her stomach, and let her mind wander. She thought of her family again, how much she missed and loved them, how her friends must be feeling right now. And when she closed her eyes, she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Rise 'n' shine princess," Alex said groggily, "Time to gear up."

"Wha...?" Danny said softly, "Gear up for what?"

"Why, your first assignment of course," Alex said with a smile, "Your going with Nick, Jake and me. Come on, I'm the one who's got to size you up."

With a grunt of effort and a yawn, Danny rose and looked at Alex with eyes half open, "Where to?"

"Well," Alex said, "Hungry?"

"Um," Danny said, her stomach growling, "It couldn't hurt."

"Nope," Alex said with a smile, stifling a laugh, "I don't think it can."

Alex took Danny's hand and practically dragged her to a room that had counters on either side, one filled with upside down glasses and the other with plates and some foods splayed about. There was a large freezer box that Alex immediately went for, grabbing two small glasses on her way. She let go of Danny's hand and opened the freezer. To Danny's surprise, a wave of heat washed over her instead of cold, and it was filled to the brim with blood bags.

"Which do you prefer?" Alex said, her hand hovering over the open freezer, "AB positive, or negative?"

"I have no idea," Danny said with a chuckle, "Does it matter?"

"Not really," Alex laughed, and she grabbed a random bag from the freezer and closed it. She lead Danny to the large table in the center of the kitchen and pulled out two chairs, motioning for Danny to sit. As the two sat, Alex opened the blood bag and poured the red liquid into the glasses, filling them up half way.

"Want to make it three?" Danny turned to see Tony walking into the kitchen, grabbing a glass, "I haven't fed since last night."

"Fine, Tony," Alex said in mock annoyance, "but I'm not pouring it for you this time."

"But you always say that," Tony smiled, sounding hurt and taking the halfway empty blood bag, "But if you insist."

As Tony poured his glass, Danny asked, "What time is it?"

"It's almost twilight," Tony said, taking a sip, "That's why Alex over there woke you."

"Oh, cause the suns down now?" Danny said, taking a sip herself. The blood glided down her throat and she instantly felt better.

"I knew you were smart," Tony said in a way that wasn't condescending.

Danny smiled and finished her glass in two large gulps and licked her lips, "I never thought I'd be so satisfied with drinking a glass of blood."

"Usually, new vampires are freaked out by that," Alex chuckled, "You keep a cool head, Danny. That's a good thing, trust me."

Danny smiled, "Thanks, Alex. So, shall we get to sizing me up?"

"Of course," Alex smiled, rising from her seat, "Follow me."

Danny rose, pushed in her chair and followed after Alex as she left the kitchen. They walked through the large mansion and came upon a door that looked like a closet, it had an old fashioned lock with a key sticking out below the tarnished brass doorknob. Alex turned the key and the knob at te same time and pushed the door opened, revealing a wooden stair case that had a orange glow at the bottom of them. Danny heard familiar voices at the bottom as well, along with the ruffling of papers. Alex and Danny descended the stairs, which groaned and creaked every few steps. When they reached the landing, Danny saw Michael, Jake, and Nick hunched over papers and maps splayed out on a heavy table, murmuring things like locations, patterns, and strategic positions, things that Danny didn't really understand. They turned and nodded towards the two girls as they entered then went back to the papers.

Danny looked around the room, soaking it all in. One side of the room was covered in maps of New York and surrounding areas, red strips of yard held down by pins cross-crossed the map. The other side was a armory like area, where sheaths hung with knives tucked into them. Along the wall were wardrobes spaced apart perfectly.

"Go ahead and pick one knife from the racks," Alex said, "And come back to me."

Danny nodded and walked towards the armory area. After looking over many different and strange types of blades, she grabbed a five inch long jet black angular knife. It was a heavy piece of metal, but she was strong enough to where it felt as light as air. Danny walked over to Alex, who was standing by the farthest wardrobe. Alex nodded, then opened the wardrobe.

Inside was a manikin that was wearing the same padded pants, a black shirt and a leather jacket with the same wide hood. At the manikins feet were boots that would come three quarters up her shins. The same dark clothes she saw the rest of the vampires wear last night.

"These are the things we wear on assignments," Alex explained, "They're durable, silent, and stealthy. They don't make a sound if you don't want them to. This is your locker, basically. The knifes in case whoever's hunting you is on vervain and you can't bite them. Otherwise, you won't really need it. Go ahead and put them on, Danny, I have to get ready too."

"Vervain?" Danny said, puzzled.

"Oh," Alex said, "It's a herb that's like poison to us."

"Oh," Danny said, "But normal people, I mean humans, take it it doesn't hurt them?"

"You are a really good guesser, my friend," Alex laughed, "You go ahead now, we don't have much time left."

Danny nodded and took the clothes out of the wardrobe and headed for a place to change, while Alex headed for her locker. She found a small side room and ducked into it. She slid out of her dirty jeans, blood stained shirt and jacket, then slid into the new clothes. The pants were made of a durable elastic material that cling to Danny's legs, showing of her thin, slender legs. The same went for the black shirt, which complemented her curves. The jacket fit perfectly as well, it warmed her and didn't restrict her at all. The boots were extremely comfortable and Danny could tell that they wouldn't come off unless she wanted them to. Danny tied her lazily curled black hair into a pony tail. Lastly, she strapped the the knife to her right thigh.

"Ok," Alex said as Danny emerged from the room, "You look _really _good, Danny. The Sexy-Assassin of the year award would be yours."

"Thanks," Danny said with a laugh, "Where to now?"

"The boys are just about done," Alex said, adjusting her jacket, "I guess we can listen to them while they wrap up."

"Sounds good to me," Danny said, and they both strode over

"Alright," Jake was saying, "So you want him alive, right?"

"Correct," Michael said.

"We don't have much vervain left," Nick was saying, "So you want us to just snap his neck?"

"That's fine," Michael said, "Any more questions?"

"Who are we supposed to be bringing back here?" Danny asked.

Michael turned to Danny and smiled, "A vampire by the name of Damon Salvatore."


	3. Simple negotiations

**Author's Note: please feel free to review the story! It's only my second story so any help is welcome, so are suggestions!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any thing pertaining to the Vampire Diaries, I own only my OC's.**

Nick drove the four vampires towards Mystic Falls, with Jake chatting it up with him in the passenger seat and Danny and Alex in the back seat. Danny and Alex had talked about everything but things concerning vampires, like clothes, the weather, how they each looked. Danny found that Alex's old name was Alexandria Young, and that she'd turned thirty years ago in Washington D.C. Before Alex had turned, she had a mother, father, and two younger sisters. when she was given the choice between the blood or the poison, she'd actually been intrigued the be a vampire, but didn't think of her family like Danny had.

"Speaking of turning," Alex started, "What do you think?"

"Well, everything is the same but different too," Danny begun, "Everything is better, like my hearing and sight, its just amazing really. But every bad feeling feels way worse, and hate that sometimes. I love the power that it gives me, though."

"Oh, tell me about it," Alex said with a smile, "The longer you live, the better everything is. Its amazing what you can do in ten years compared to when you just start out. Trust me, Danny, when we train you, and when you help us with these assignments instead of spectating, you'll love being one of us. And I, as your first vampire friend, will be with you every step of the way."

"Thanks," Danny said smiling happily, "What kind of training?"

"Combat, strategy, spying, things like that. Really cool stuff, trust me, its the history lessons that are boring, but those fly by once you get into a rhythm. The combats fun for the girls though," Alex laughed, "We have to learn a funner martial art then the guys because we're smaller, but its way better."

"I beg to differ," Jake chimed in, "Granted you have some moves that would leave a regular human pissing his pants, but that doesn't mean overall that your better."

"Well," Nick muttered loudly, suppressing a smile, "They _did_ beat you in the last two fights."

Jack shot Nick a look, an Danny couldn't help but laugh. They were just now entering the outskirts of Mystic Falls ans Danny asked, "So whats the plan?"

"Well," Nick said, "We were going to bait him out somehow and then snap his neck. Then we bring him back home with us."

"Oh," Danny said, sounding kind of bored, "How are you going to bait him out then?"

"You," Jake said, and continued when Danny raised an eyebrow, "Your going to act as a normal human out for a mid-night drink. Then, Alex over here's going to show you something in her car outside but she'll compel you, and your going to go along with it. Then, our mark, being the selfless hero, will follow after you two and your going to lead him right to us."

"And I'm the bait, why?" Danny said with a small smile.

"Your the youngest," Jake said as if he were her big brother.

"No fair," Danny said, and acted hurt.

"Alright," Nick said, "We're here."

Danny glanced up and saw a large sign that read: "_Welcome To Mystic Falls_"

* * *

Damon sat in a barstool, tuning out the constant chatter of the Grille. He'd had a long day and sloshed around the bourbon in his glass, sighing with exhaustion. His shock of black hair slight wet from when he'd splashed his face with water. Elena and Stefan were home, sleeping most likely. Damon was glad for the alone time, resting his elbows on the bar, hunched forward over his glass.

Damon turned at the sound of the door opening to the Grille and was shocked at the sight of a girl clad in black. Her lazily curled black hair, highlighted by a thin strip of blood red, framed her flawless face and icy blue eyes. Damon watched her as she say at the far end of the bar, sitting graciously down on the barstool.

"What'll it be?" Damon over heard the bartender say.

The girl smiled brilliantly, "Surprise me. Something strong though."

"I don't know about strong, miss," the bartender said, "How about bourbon?"

"Sounds good to me," she shrugged, "How much?"

"You know what? It's on the house," he said with a smile.

"How sweet of you," the girl said with a soft, thankful tone.

The bartender smiled and turned for the bourbon, stooped for a glass, and poured the girl a glass. She nodded her thanks and took a sip. She breathed a sigh as she brought the glass from her lips. The girl glanced around passively, as if she were taking the place in. She pulled out a mirror and refreshed her make up somehow, and took another sip, then a slightly older girl with brown her like Elena's, sat next to her. She wore similar clothes to the black haired girl, but instead of a jacket, her shoulders were bare except for the straps of her tank top. She smiled.

"Hey," the girl said, "Mind if I join you?"

"I guess not," the black haired girl said with a shrug then looked to the bartender, "She'll have what I'm having I guess."

"Thanks," the brown haired one smiled, "Hey, I love that jacket!"

"Oh this?" the black haired girl said, smiling and gesturing to her leather jacket, "I guess it's alright."

"You know what?" The brown haired one said, looking straight into the other girls eyes, "Give that to me."

The black haired girls expression blanked and she slid out of the jacket and handed it to her, "Here."

"Gee thanks," the girl smiled, sliding on the jacket then compelled her again, "Come with me."

The girl dark haired girl looked blankly and nodded. The brown haired one smiled devilishly and rose, turning to to exit. The other girl was not far behind her. Damon, sighed, finished his drink, and followed the two girls out the door. The night air whistled past his ears, slamming his nose with it's fresh scent. Damon looked right and then left, spotting the pair heading towards a dark area of the road. Damon followed them silently, casually with his hands in his pockets. He saw the two girls duck into a dark alleyway.

"Hold still and don't scream," he heard the older girl compel. He turned the corner and saw the brown eyes of the older girl become dark and a web of veins showed under her eyes, her canines lengthened into fangs.

"Hey," Damon called, causing her to stop inches from the dark haired girls throat, "Let's not do something we'll regret, shall we?"

The girl sighed, annoyed as she pulled back and retracted her fangs, "And you are?"

"The party pooper at the moment," Damon smiled, "For now, anyway. So I'll give you two choices: compel her to forget this and leave, or share her with me."

"You drive a hard bargain," She said with a cool smile, "Choice number three: you shut up and let me have a wonderful main course and you go find your own dinner."

"Oh sorry," Damon said with a smirk, "Wrong answer."

Damon dove for the black haired girl. Then she snapped out of her black state and looked devilishly at Damon. He stopped in his tracks, confused and then the brown haired girl disappeared. Damon hardly noticed as the black haired girl faced him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hello, Damon Salvatore," The girl said, "So very pleased to meet you at last."

"oh come on, lady," Damon said in his trademark annoyed bored voice, "You could have just asked for me to meet you, instead of having a minion of yours help."

The girl shrugged, "It's funner this way, you must admit."

"I could have another drink right now," Damon said sadly, "but I guess not. So who are you anyway?"

"Does it really matter?" She said, and nodded to behind Damon. He turned around to find two guys in the same type of black clothing with leather jackets. They had wise hoods over their heads, casting the darkest shadows so that he couldn't see their eyes. They flanked the brown haired girl, who looked at him with a smirk. They al stood shoulder width apart, arms crossed over their chests.

"Nighty, night, Mr. Salvatore," he heard the dark haired girl whisper in his ear, then she snapped his neck with a quick twist. Damon crumpled to the ground.

* * *

"Well," Danny said with a sigh, "That was fun."

"That went well for your first time," Jake said, "So how come you don't seem to be freaked out about any of this Danny?"

Danny shrugged, smiling mischievously, "Maybe I was good at handling crazy things, and hiding my own inner turmoil, in my old life, so it's just that but more intense. Or I'm just meant to do this, to be this."

"Well. Nick," Jake said clapping Nicks shoulder after they tossed Damon's limp body into the trunk, "You sure know how to pick 'em."

"I have a good eye, what can I say?" Nick smiled, "Now, who's gonna be the one to shoot him full of vervain when he wakes up?"

Danny raised a hand to volunteer, smiling. "Do that's what that syringe was then?"

"Right again, my young friend," Jake chuckled, "I vote Nick for it, since he's the oldest and all."

"Aww," Alex sighed, "I want to do it, he had the nerve to keep me from a kill...well kind of anyway."

Nick shrugged, "How about Alex sticks him, and Danny stands back in case we have to snap his neck...again."

"Yay!" Alex exclaimed in mock excitement, making her voice like a squeal, "Girl time!"

Danny rolled her eyes and leaned back onto the Camero, "Can I have my jacket back?"

"Oh," Alex laughed, shrugging off the leather jacket and transferring the vervain to her pants pocket, "Yeah, here."

"Thanks," Danny nodded, taking the jacket and sliding it over her shoulders, she felt warmer now, "Well, can we go now?"

"I don't see why not," Jake said, looking towards Nick, who was closing the trunk with finality, "How about you, Chief?"

"Nope, let's go," Nick said, then as they all got in at about the same time, he asked with a smile, "Anyone hungry?"

After they all nodded quickly, Nick laughed and revved the engine and drove off. They sped down the road and were soon on their way to New York. They were almost out of town before they realized it was almost dawn. Nick sighed and turned around towards the dimming lights of Mystic Falls. They pulled into a motel minutes before sunrise and rented two rooms, the girls in one and the guys with their captive in the other. After they'd closed and knocked the wooden door, Danny sighed heavily and shrugged of her jacket. After she tossed her jacket on her bed, she went to the sink, where Alex stood brushing her teeth. Danny cupped her hands and splashed water onto her face. It felt good and refreshing, and Danny sighed as she dried her face with a hand towel. When se looked up, she couldn't help but notice the strange predatory look in her eyes, which made her think of how she'd so easily snapped Damon's neck. She laughed, shrugging off the thought. She turned and saw Alex sitting on her bed expectantly.

"Yes?" Danny said turning, "What is it?"

"What do you think so far?" Alex said smiling, "You like it?"

"Do I like being an immortal bad-ass?" Danny intoned with a slight smile, "It has ita ups and downs."

"Oh don't lie," Alex smiled, "You love it, and you know it. I know it's a bit of a change going from not hurting a fly to snapping people's necks and drinking their blood, but you'll get used to it, trust me."

"Everything's changed for me, Alex," Danny said, sounding sad, "I left behind everything I've ever known not even a day or two ago. My Mom and Dad, my friends, my entire life just gone. And I can't even see my own funeral, for even a hint of real closure."

"I'm sorry, Danny," Alex said softly, "It was easier for me because there wasn't much for me to leave. My Dad was a very dedicated drinker, my mother left us, and I never fit in anywhere. But that changed with Nick found me. He gave me his blood, gave me a painless death, and brought me to the Manor. They trained me to fight, how to use my new abilities, how to stay alive in any kind of fight. I was impulsive the first two to three weeks, slaughtering people because my anger towards how bad I'd had it overwhelmed me. But everyone helped me through it. It was different back then, there was Nick, Mark and Adam, Michael, Jake, and me. They recruited me after they'd lost a good amount of them in a huge fight with a wolf pack. A werewolf bite is fatal to us, just as much as stakes are. Sunlight, though, is a strange one. Witches can make special rings that let you walk in the daylight, well, that's the rumor anyway. But if you stay away from all those bad things, the perks are so worth it."

"That, I can agree to," Danny laughed, "Well, I don't know what to do for the day, want to go pester the guys?"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Alex smiled cheerfully.

Danny and Alex walked through the door without knocking, both smiling at Nick and Jake. The two men were laying on their beds and neither of them had taken an article of clothing of except for their jackets, just like Danny and Alex. Danny glanced over to to foot of Nicks bed, and saw a passed out Damon Salvatore with a plain leather jacket, white v-neck, and light jeans. Danny could hear the bones in his neck moving back into place. The men were acting as if the girls hadn't entered, pretending to sleep but acting so terribly that the girls knew that they were faking.

Alex just sighed and slowly made her way over to Jake, who was laying down on his back, while Danny leaned on the nearest wall and watched with a small smile. When Alex finally made her way over to Jake, he was fake snoring up a storm, Alex traced the edge of the bed with her index finger as she went around to the other side of the need, straining to not giggle, smiling wider eery second until she was on the other side of the mattress. Then she threw herself onto Jake'a stomach just as he inhaled a large gulp of air. When Alex landed, Jake faked doubling over as his breath was knocked out of him. Danny and Alex burst out laughing and Jake just smiled wide. Danny felt good as she laughed, all of the small twinges of worry and guilt that she didn't even know she had been forming in her chest melting away at how silly Alex and Jake were acting. Danny had friends that acted like that all the time, and this reminded her of them in the best way so that she didn't miss them.

"So," Jake said his breath wheezy from laughing, "How you girls doing?"

"Tired," Danny yawned, using her vampire speed to appear at Nicks bed where he still lay with a larger then possible snore, "Very, very tired."

Danny yawned again then "fainted" onto Nick's rising chest, causing the same, even more exaggerated response of Nick wheezing for air. Danny laughed until her vision was blurred by tears. Nick laughed along with them, holding his abs like Danny had hurt him with her landing.

"I think he's going to wake up soon, don't you?" Danny said, catching her breath as she started to stop laughing, a small smile was still on her face and her abs were sore. She heard a low moan, and turned with a sly smile at the awakening Damon, "Told you so."

"You know," Damon said, rolling his neck, "I'm not a fan of getting my neck snapped. Who do I blame for it this time?"

"That would be me, Mr. Salvatore," Danny said with a bow.

"I was hoping it wasn't you," Damon sighed, "Well, your just too pretty for me to rip your heart out... So I think that Blue Eyes will have to do."

"Careful," Danny whispered into Nick'a ear, "We have a buzzkill on our hands."

Nick shrugged, "So, Damon, what do you think our here for?"

"Are you guys like the vampire police or something? Cause that would explain the getups," Damon shrugged, "Anyways, I have no idea why I'm in a motel when I can be at a mansion with a tray of liquor instead, so please, enlighten me."

"We have reason to believe that you've been suppling vervain to the local population. Now, seeing as that can cause other vampires problems, you can see why I'm concerned about it."

"That's what this is for?" Damon scoffed, "Trust me, friend, I've done worse things then give the puny little vampire hunters vervain."

"We've heard about that," Nick said, "But that's for another time I suppose, if you end up being enough of a problem anyway."

"You know," Damon said, "If that's a threat, then the jokes on you. The Originals hate my guts and would gladly kill me if they had the chance, so why should I be afraid of a small time vamp that has a bad taste in motels?"

"Well, I suppose you'll think more clearly and be more worth my while after I ram vervain into the back of your skull through your eyes," Nick said smoothly, a evil grin crossing his face as he rose and turned towards Alex, "Go ahead, its your turn."

"Gladly," Alex said with a devilish smile.

Alex blurred behind Damon and quickly snapped his neck with out a second thought. Damon slumped in his chair again, lifeless. Alex exhaled and tucked a loose strand of her brown hair behind her ear.

"Feel better?" Danny chuckled.

"Much better," Alex smiled, "Come on, it's getting bright out and I need some sleep."

"Right behind you, Alex," Danny said, following Alex through the door into their room. Danny let loose a long, drawn out sigh and face-planted onto the bed, her hair splayed around her head like a dark halo. She rolled onto her back and stared around the room. The plaster was starting to peel from the walls, creating thin lines that splintered into smaller lines. The fan had a thin layer of dust, and it's light cast a warm orange light. Danny, unfortunately, could hear rodents scurrying in the walls, and the very intimate actions of a couple three doors down. Danny felt blood rush to her cheeks and she tuned them out and covered her ears. She focused on her new clothes. She'd taken off the slim fitting shirt and wore a black tank top that was just as skin tight as the shirt. The black pants she wore had extra material on the outside of her thighs and they were like skinny jeans, wrapping around her thin thighs and calves and went into her high boots. The boots reached just past the middle of her calves, made of a tough but comfortable material that acted like the padding on Danny's pants, and they had an inch heel. With relief and a long sigh, Danny felt herself drift into sleep, slowly drifting into unconsciousness.

* * *

Danny woke at the sound of the guys' door being pounded on furiously and a voice yelling, "Damon in there with you?"

Danny heard Nick respond almost bored, "Who's asking?"

"Elena," She said, "Look, he didn't do anything to you that I can't help you clear up so just let him go."

"And you know him how?" Nick said, undoubtably raising an eyebrow.

"I'm his girl friend," Elena said.

Danny listened and heard two pairs of feet coming towards Nicks door, one small and feminine and the other larger. Danny peaked out the window, a blonde girl with curled hair and a boy with wavy dark hair next to her. It was just beginning to be twilight. Danny quickly checked her sheath or her knife, touching the corse hilt and quickly grabbing her jacket and sliding it over her shoulders as she quietly slithered through the door into Nicks room. She held up two fingers mouthing "two more coming". Nick nodded quickly turning back to the door. Alex and Jake were sitting on one of the beds, looking bored as ever. Danny glanced at Damon, who was still tied up and unmoving, his black hair falling over his closed eyes.

"So, Elena," Nick said, "What are you and your two friends going to do?"

"We were hoping that you'd just let him go and I answer your questions," Elena said

"Well, he's been supplying vervain to the local vampire hunters," Nick stated, "So he is due for some punishment, and he needs to shut down the vervain production as well. Then we'll release him. Until then, there's nothing you can do."

Danny heard Elena sigh, "How long until he comes back?"

"Depends on his choice. He can choose to be bleed out and left to dedicate for a two years, or lashed for ten minutes by two of us. So the absolute soonest could be by the end of the week."

"That doesn't sound good either way," Elena said

"It has to be done, otherwise vampires could get killed because one of us was a fool enough to give the enemy tools against us. Now we must be off, Damon'a due for questioning soon, so if you could go back home it would be very much appreciated."

"And if she doesn't want to?" said the boy with wavy hair.

Nick just chuckled and flipped on his hood, Danny, Alex and Jake followed suit. Everyone's face was cloaked in the darkest shadows. Danny felt like she was in the middle of a cult gathering, with all of them wearing the same clothing. The guys clothes were slightly different them the girls, Danny noticed. They wore combat boots that reached just past their ankles, and their jackets were mote tailored to their broad shoulders and muscular builds. Upon a signal from Nick, Jake went to pick up Damon and the girls slipped into their room and to the door that lead out of their room. The girls waited for about a minute, calming their breathing into slow peaceful breaths. Then, with the sound of Nicks signal, they walked out into the dark night silent as could be and started to walk away from the three at the boys door.

"What the heck?" Danny heard the blonde say, "Who the hell are these people?"

"It can't be," breathed the wavy haired one, "They were only rumors..."

"What are you talking about, Stefan?" the blonde said.

"There were these rumors I heard a while ago about a group of vampires that punish rippers and sympathizers for their crimes. I hears that they wear these black clothes and they wear hoods that hide their faces. Caroline, you better follow them, they could be getting Damon or more of them," Stefan whispered as low as he could so that Danny could barely hear him.

Then Danny heard Caroline's soft footsteps behind them, about thirty feet away. Danny looked over at Alex, and smiled. Alex, only the bottom of her nose down showing under the hood, smiled back. Then they both turned the corner and as soon as they knew they couldn't be seen, pulled out their phones and started to fake call in for "reinforcements", knowing that Caroline will be close enough to hear them. Sure enough, Caroline had used her vampire speed to blur in front of Danny and Alex and smack the phones away from their ears, cutting them off mid-sentence.

"I don't think you'll be needing those," Caroline said smugly, "Now who are you people?"

Danny and Alex looked at each other and smiled evilly, then at the same time, turned towards Caroline. She looked confused at their response, stepping back as if she were pushed. Then Alex lunged for Caroline with a catlike, deadly hiss, taking her to the ground while Danny watched with great interest. Alex jumped off Caroline and lowered into a fighting stance, and Caroline got up as quickly as she could, raising her fists to shield her face. Then Caroline swung a left hook at Alex's face, but Alex smirked and beat down the punch, causing Caroline to stumble foreword, right into Alex's elbow as she thrust it into her nose. Caroline's head jerked back, and blood splattered onto her white blouse. Then, Alex slammed her fist into Caroline's jaw with the same arm that had elbowed her. The ensuing whiplash snapped Caroline's neck with a satisfying crack as she crumbled to the ground.

"And that," Alex said with a flip of her hair, "Is just a taste of what you'll be learning soon."

Danny's mouth curled into a huge, mischievous smile, "Can't wait."

They rounded the corner to find Elena and Stefan crumbled on the ground in front for the motel room, their necks snapped. With a glance in both directions revealing no witnesses Alex and Danny flicked their hoods off and headed towards the car. Nick was just then tossing Damon, bound by rope at the ankles and wrists, into the trunk when he started to stir. His eyes fluttered open just in time to see Jake grip his head and break it once again. Danny laughed as she remembered that it was the third time it had happened in 24 hours.

They all piled in the car, not even glancing back at the three vampires in their wake, and drove for New York.


	4. A New Family

**Author's Note: This bad boy right here is 5000+ words! Please review for what you want to happen next in the story! This is my only second story, so please enjoy. I hope you all enjoy reading my stories. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries, only my ten OC's. **

Stefan's eyes shot open, realizing immediately what had happened. Elena lay beside him, limp as a doll. Caroline was walking unbalanced towards them, rubbing her neck softly, a groan passing through her lips. Stefan rose and rubbed at the dull ache that went with his neck being snapped. Elena awoke slowly, moaning as she massaged at her neck as well. They all looked from side to side and found no evidence of the hooded figures they had cornered.

"Ok Stefan," Caroline said, sounding angry, "Spill."

"I guess I probably should have mentioned that they're trained like they were special forces. I hear they turn strong willed people and make them into one of them. Their supposed to be the good guys though, but they have a reputation," Stefan explained.

"And knowing that, you sent me after those two alone?" Caroline said astonished and offended, "Only one of them fought me while the other just watched and I got my neck snapped by a punch! Stefan, I can't believe you right now!"

"Calm down, Caroline," Elena said, standing between the two vampires, "Stefan thought they were just rumors, he couldn't have known I they were true, anyway."

"It still would have been nice to know!" Caroline said exasperated.

"I'm sorry," Stefan said, "but did you see their faces at all?"

"Nope, those hoods covered their faces from their noses down," Caroline said, "But the one that watched me...her eyes were such a icy blue that I could see them."

"Well, that's something at least," Elena sighed, then she turned her gaze towards Stefan, "So where do we start?"

"They say that those guys are based in New York City, or near it," Stefan said.

"Well," Caroline said, back to her normal perky self, "What're we waiting for?"

Elena and Stefan shrugged and head for their car piling in and turned north towards New York, all of them thinking on how in the world they were going to find Damon.

* * *

They were just within the city limits when Danny heard Damon stir in the trunk. She nudged Alex and nodded towards the trunk. Alex shrugged, and whispered to Nick to inform him. It was close to two in the morning, and the lights of New York were as bright as ever, from Danny's enhanced sight and her being slightly homesick. Danny tugged at the bottom of we jacket to straighten it out, and looked out the window towards the skyline, taking in the familiar sight. The moon was high in the sky, glowing the purest white Danny thought possible against the cloudless black sky. She heard the usual commotion of the city, and felt right at home.

"How about now?" Alex chimed in for fiftieth time since they had started back, "He'a awake now."

"You know what?" Nick said as if he'd just come up with the idea out of the blue, "Alexandria? Would you like to stick the vampire in our trunk with vervain?"

"That's a great idea, Nicholas!" Alex said, playing along.

Nick rolled his eyes and pulled over to the curve, "Take Danielle with you."

"Gladly," Alex smiled, rising out out the car and pulling out the syringe.

Danny sighed with a smile and got out of the car. As soon as Alex opened the trunk, both of their faces went stone cold serious. Damon looked groggily up at the girls, and let out a long sarcastic sigh when he laid eyes on Alex. He struggled against the bindings at his wrists and ankles. The ropes held firm against his attempts at freedom. Alex unceremoniously trust the needle into Damon'a neck and emptied the syringe of liquid. Damon's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he slumped into unconsciousness, as if Alex had stuffed him with instant sedative. Alex jerked the needle out of his neck and stuck it back into her pocket.

"Well," Danny said, "That's that."

Alex shrugged, "Seems like it. He should wake up in about five hours, and we're four away from the Mansion."

"Hey," Danny said as she opened her door, "Why did you two just use our old names just then?"

"Because most of the time they sound more intimidating or something," Alex said as they slid into their seats, "It's because he was awake and he would have heard us."

"Oh," Danny said, "Okay, I get it."

"Good," Alex said, then she turned to Nick, "He's out, we can go."

Nick nodded and turned back onto the road. The stone and concrete pillar of apartments towered above Danny as they rode by. The windows reflected the moon and the stars, framing them like exquisite photos. Some of the lights were one higher up on the building, the silhouette of a woman brushing her hair in one of them. They had long lost their luster since Danny had seen them just about everyday when she was human.

_When she was human? _Danny laughed at how ridiculous that would have sounded to her not three days ago. She shrugged off that train of thought before she could think of her family. They made their way towards the Mansion, which Danny remembered was about an hour and a half north of the city limits. Alex taught Danny how to sharpen her knife with a portable sharpening stone to pass the time, and they both spent the tail end of the trip honing their blades. Before she realized it, they were pulling up to the Mansion, it's windows spilling soft orange light onto the lawn. They all got out of the Camero, Nick and Jake heading around the trunk and hefted Damon's unconscious body into the house, Alex and Danny in tow. The four of them made their way down to where the armory was, and set Damon down in a steel chair, re-tying his restraints to the chair with vervain soaked rope. Michael had received a shipment of the herb not an hour ago. Jake and Nick double checked the bindings as Danny went up to her room as silent as she could, which ended up meaning that she made next to no sounds whatsoever. She entered her room, and walked over o the white door that held her closet. Danny opened the door to reveal a collection of clothes so similar to her old ones that she could help but laugh. They all were the same sizes as her gear which meant they all would fit perfect. Danny picked a pair of rich blue skinny jeans, black boots that looked like the ones she'd just taken off, and a grey tank top. She quickly changed out of her all black gear and into the comfortable clothes she'd picked out, then neatly folded the gear, bringing it to her locker. She hung her clothes, boots, and jacket exactly as she found them, unstrapping the knife and setting it down next to her boots. She looked at the armory-like locker and scoffed at how she should even need it to begin with. She was more then just any vampire, she knew, where that left her she didn't know. The family she had and the one she found herself in were completely opposite, since her previous life was focused on grades and heathy relationships that meant the world to her. Now, however, Danny was focusing on her skills and physical ability. The Danielle that she used to be had dieted and ran to keep her perfect figure, though she usually wore loose shirts and jackets that didn't do her curves any justice. Danny was sure that soon enough, she'll be training to be what the rest of her new family seemed to be: hunters of the hunter, a life of chasing down any stray or rogue vampires and punishing them for their transgressions.

Danny shook her head. She could feel the burning, stomach churning feeling that told her she was hungry...or was it thirsty? It felt like a mixture of both, Danny decided, shutting the doors to her locker slowly. She heard Alex approach her from behind, her footsteps resounding through the stone floor of the basement. Danny took a small breath and turned with a pleasant smile to Alex.

"Yes?" Danny said.

"We need you topside for guard duty," Alex said, pointing her thumb up to indicate te house above them, "By the time we're done with him it will be time for you to get some rest. Then, we'll begin your training."

"Anything, Alex," Danny said, "Will anyone else be up there with me? Do I need anything from here?"

"Oh, Mark and Aaron will be up there with you, and a boot knife couldn't hurt," Alex answered, smiling

"Okay, I'll see you later then," Danny smiled back heading towards the section that had blades hanging from the wall. She found a double edged all black dagger with a boot sheath and clipped it to the inside of her boot. She wouldn't have noticed it was there because the hilt blended so well with her boot. She Quickly made her way up the stairs and turned into the kitchen, scanning the room for the freezer that held te blood bags. But instead she found a smiling Aaron, dressed in nice jeans, dark converse, and a grey t shirt, and a glass of blood resting in his palm. Danny blinked and noticed that the blood bag was half full and an empty glass sat in front of the vacant chair to Aaron's left.

"Mind if I steal that last bit of blood you have left?" Danny smiled and pointed at the bag.

"Not at all, Danny," Aaron said with a smirk, "It was yours after all anyways."

"Was it now?" Danny said, smiling and raising a suspicious eyebrow, "'Cause I don't remember asking for it."

"No, you didn't ask," Aaron said, shrugging, "But, I got it for you anyways."

"How sweet of you," Danny said, rolling her eyes and making her way over to Aaron.

"So what do you think so far?" Aaron asked as Danny slipped into the chair and poured a glass of blood.

"Think about what?" Danny took a sip from her glass.

"Us," Aaron answered simply.

"You all are like my family and I've only known you all for four days," Danny said simply, "I never thought I could find somewhere where I feel like I fit in."

"Well then," Aaron said raising his glass, "Welcome to the family."

Danny softly laughed and touched her glass to his, "Cheers."

* * *

"Stefan," Elena said impatiently as they reached the city limits of New York, "Do you have any idea where we are going to find him?"

Stefan shrugged, "Not yet."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Caroline said exasperated, gripping the wheel tighter.

"It means that I will find out soon, Caroline," Stefan said, "Now, if there aren't anymore questions, head to east on that road until you see a cafe."

Caroline nodded impatiently, turning right onto a wet concrete road. They past large square buildings, lined with grids of rectangular windows, as they made their way down the road. Caroline, Stefan, and Elena scoured the sides of the street for a cafe, every two minutes or so one of them would call out one, only to have Stefan say that it wasn't it.

Finally, Elena called out a cafe that had a baby blue awning over its rich oak door and Stefan nodded his approval. Caroline let out a sigh of relief as she turned and parked in front of the cafe. The sun was just peaking out behind the extravagant New York skyline as they entered through the door, a small bell announcing their arrival with a soft ring. A smiling woman greeted them and lead them to a booth, handing them menus as they sat in the comfortable seats. They all ordered water, and Caroline looked expectantly at Stefan, who held up a finger before she could talk. With a shrug, Caroline slouched in her seat, content to wait. The waitress came back with a tray of water, and set them down softly in front of each of them.

"We're here to see Rico," Stefan said simply in the woman's direction.

"Oh," she said, her smile vanishing into a pressed line, "Your one of them then?"

"We all are, I'm afraid," Stefan shrugged,"But we aren't hungry if that's what you're worried about."

"Good, I don't like covering for your kind," the woman said, "Well, follow me then, I'll take you to him then."

"Thank you," Stefan said, rising as the woman turned and headed for the back of the cafe, then her turned to Caroline and Elena, "Ladies, if you'll follow me."

The girls nodded and fell in behind Stefan as they trailed the woman into the door near the kitchen marked "Employees only" and pushed through it into a break room that smelled of smoke and microwave meals. They crossed the small, square room, weaving through the cheap wooden tables and chairs into another door that was marked "Custodian". As they entered that room they found a man with short spiked hair snoring in a makeshift canvas hammock, Elena and Caroline saw Stefan grinning. The woman sighed and kicked the man slightly, causing him to stir and jolt upright and almost lose his balance. The man, whose jacket had a patch with the name "Rico", scanned the faces in his presence and his gaze fell upon Stefan, he smiled. Rico jumped up out of his hammock and gave Stefan a big bear hug, patting his back like old friends, which is what they seemed to be. then woman sighed and left them as soon as the door wasn't blocked by Elena and Caroline

"Stefan, my friend!" Rico exclaimed in a Hispanic accent, "Last i saw you it must have been three decades ago. What brings you to Liberty City?"

Stefan smiled, "I'm here to ask a favor."

"Oh, that's all? Just business then?" Rico said, smiling but faking hurt.

"Well, I chose you out of ten possible friends to ask, just so i could see you if that makes you feel any better," Stefan grinned.

"Oh that does make me feel special," Rico chuckled, his smile brightening as rubbed his hands together quietly, "So what can i do for you my friend?"

"Information," Stefan stated simply, "On that one group you told me about last time I was in town."

"You wish to know more of the Night Haunters then?" Rico said, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"The who?" Caroline blurted.

"You haven't told them anything much have you?" Rico smiled eying Stefan.

"I knew that you would love to tell them yourself," Stefan said with a small smile

"Your too kind, Stefan," Rico said rolling his eyes, his smile never faltering as he turned his gaze to Elena and Caroline, "So, where shall I begin then?"

Elena and Caroline looked at each other and then back to Rico, Caroline opening her mouth to speak, "Who are these creeps?"

"The rumor is that they started out as a group of vampires that all believed that, in order to ensure that vampires wouldn't be hunted down by every hunter in the world, vampires had to be governed. They formed a group, learned how to thrive in combat, and used the strongest founding members home as a base of operations. That man's name was Nicholas Harrison," Rico explained, sliding behind a small oak desk and folding his hands behind his head, "They are ruthless, cold, and completely loyal to their group unto death. They are the vampire version of a werewolf pack, basically."

"Then what do they want with Damon?" Elena asked, "All he did was give vervain to the Council."

"He did what?" Rico sat forward, leaning over his desk, an astonished look on his face.

"What did i say? Whats so bad about giving vervain to them?" Elena shot back, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, its the lowest transgression that's under their jurisdiction, and one of the first acts they did as they started out," Rico said.

"What else did they do?" Caroline asked.

Rico smiled ay her interest and smiled at how had the opportunity to speak, "They dealt with Rippers, rogues, sympathizers, and the like. They left lesser crimes alone because they tended to catch up with the one that committed them, and they ended up dead. When they show up to deal with who ever is causing the problem, then that means that they have deemed that person a threat to the survival of other vampires. In their early years they stamped the vampires they killed with the seal of Nicholas Harrison, which as i recall is an N overlaid with an H. Ive seen it myself, it basically looks like an N was divided in half. Anyways, now their clothing is their trademark. I've heard they're clad in eerie black clothing, with knives, and hoods that cast the darkest shadows on their faces so that nothing can see their faces through them, including vampires. Those same clothes are as silent as possible, and that there are no other clothes like them."

"Yep," Caroline said nonchalantly, "That's them. I was knocked out cold by a girl in black with a hood. her friend had a knife on her thigh."

"You've seen them!?" Rico exclaimed, shooting up from his desk.

"Yeah," Elena said confused

"Then how are you alive right now? The only witnesses that live only are bystanders, not people that have fought them! Tell me everything!" Rico leaned forward with excitement.

"Well, what you said pretty much summed it up," Elena said, "We could only see from the tips of their noses down. They were smiling like fighting us was a joke to them, like we were an amusement to them or something."

"Well, they are trained from the moment they Turned to hunt down vampires just like you, if not weaker. So it was basically going through the motions for them," Rico shrugged.

"So we had no shot?" Elena said, annoyed.

"Unless you hit them with vervain or catch them off guard, which is highly unlikely, no," Rico answered.

"And you know what the best part of this is my friend?" Stefan said brightly, "We were planning on barging into these vampires home and taking Damon back."

Rico burst into laughter, collapsing on to his desk, great heaves racking his chest as he fought to regain composure. Elena and Caroline looked at him, staring in disbelief at his reaction while Stefan chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. Rico laughed for what felt like hours, great gaffs of laughter that brought tears to his eyes. Finally he spoke, his smiling face looking at the girls incredulous expressions, "That is the textbook definition of a suicide mission, my friends."

"Still," Stefan said, "We are wondering if you know anything about where this house of theirs is."

"You're serious?" Rico's expression instantly went serious, his easy smile vanishing.

Stefan nodded, and Rico told them exactly where to go.

* * *

Danny gulped down the last drop of her third glass. She was left alone when Aaron left for his turn to walk around the Mansion. The warm blood had satisfied her hunger, so she felt like she'd eaten a buffet. Danny rose and walked around the large house, thinking it was about time she got used to her new home. It had twelve rooms, most on the second floor, a large kitchen, the meeting room where she'd spent her last moments as a human, and also a large office. Danny had the one room that looked remotely feminine, since every other room had sleek black furniture and wall that could be mistaken for a weapons display. The first floor gave Danny the feeling that a hunter had lived here, thanks to the skeletons on display as well as the prizes that adorned the desks and walls, accompanied by the portraits of regal men and women. Danny went to the meeting room and sunk onto the leather couch, absently tossing the knife, every time it went airborne it flipped once around before landing back in her palm. She strained to hear Damon's anguished cries, even with her advanced hearing and noted that if she'd not known he was down there, she wouldn't have an inkling that he was even close to her.

Aaron, yawning slightly, walked casully into the meeting room, smiling slightly, "Your turn, princess."

"Already?" Danny looked up into his black eyes, so dark that she couldn't tell pupil from iris, "I thought I had thirty minutes left.

"You do, but I'm asking nicely if you'll cover for me while i get some rest, Mark's in the kitchen," Aaron said.

"Okay, if you're asking nicely," Danny smiled, shrugging before rising from the soft leather couch, "What do i have to do?"

"Just keep an eye on the doors and make sure no one enters unless Michael says they can," Aaron says, "It's not that hard. And if they're humans that seem lost, you can do what you want with them as long as you don't kill them and they don't come back to this place at all."

He smiled wickedly. _Do want you want with them, _Danny repeated in her mind, thinking of what he could mean by that. Danny smiled as Aaron slipped through the door, up the wooden stairs, and into his room, where Danny could hear him lay down onto his bed as the springs reluctantly gave way under Aarons weight. Danny sat back down and continued to toss her knife absently, thinking of the training she would be starting soon. She wandered what she would learn first. Fighting? Stealth? Danny was nervous that she would meet up to her family's expectations. Her thoughts were interrupted by Mark's tentative knock on the door frame. She looked up and smiled at him.

"Hey, Danny," he said, "How are you?"

"Oh, nervous I guess," Danny shrugged, trying to appear casual.

"What could you possibly be nervous about?" Mark raised and eyebrow. He still wore his Gear, his version of the leather jacket had a military style to it, like how the pockets looked as if they should be on a military uniform. Mark had combat boots, a large knife jutted from between his shin and the boot on his right. Mark looked heavier then the rest of them, though Danny blamed it in his large jacket. Mark held a glass of what looked like vodka.

"Training," Danny answered lamely.

Mark chuckled, "Oh, don't worry about that, Danny, you'll pass with flying colors. And when your done, you'll be completely one of us."

"I'm not one of you right now?" Danny asked, looking into Mark's eyes.

"Oh you basically are in everyone's eyes, trust me. You're already like a sister to everyone here. But you officially won't be one of us until you complete training and the Initiation Ritual."

"Initiation Ritual?" Danny asked curiously.

"A ceremony where you make a blood oath with every member, and we give you the full set of equipment we have. So far, all you've been given is the basics, your Gear is only bear essentials. If you wish, you could be a walking arsenal. It's been done by one of us in the West, a vampire prodigy took completely to using blades, it save his and his clans lives actually."

"How?" Danny asked.

"Well, vampires don't usually use as many blades as he did, so when his enemies thought he was unarmed they only realized their mistake when they had a knife in their backs," Mark chuckled.

"Wow," Danny said, catching her blade again and slipping it back into the boot sheath, "I don't know if I'll be that overboard, but I don't see the harm in having hidden back ups."

"Sounds good to me," Mark smiled, then he motioned to the tray of alcohol behind Danny on a high table, "Want a drink?"

Danny chuckled, "What's to drink?"

"One of everything, I think," Mark said, Downing the last of the vodka and slowly making his way over to the tray. He poured two glasses of bourbon and sat next to Danny, offering her one of the glasses. With a grateful smile, she took it.

"So do you miss your old family?" Mark asked

"Greatly, but Nick told me I can't ever see them again. Why not?" Danny asked, tilting her head.

"Well, what do you think would happen if they saw their dead daughter come out of the shadows, completely different but still barring the same face. Then, imagine what they would think if they found out what you were? I made the mistake of going home after I Turned. When my father tripped over his feet and nicked his palm with the corner of a tray, he bled only one drop, but it was enough. They saw what I really was then, and they were terrified. They cowered in fear. Tell me, is that what you want to be remembered as? A nightmare?"

"No," Danny mumbled, "but do you think I could at least observe my own funeral?"

"Why would you want to do that?" Mark said, puzzled.

"Closure, I suppose," Danny said, sloshing around her bourbon before taking a drink of it.

"I see, for you or to see if your old family has moved on?"

"Both," Danny answered firmly.

Mark nodded, understanding in his eyes, "Very well then, Danny, I'll ask Michael for permission to take you. If he says yes, he'll require that at least two of us go with you. Who would you like that to be?"

"I'd like to get to know your brother to see if he is as kind as you," Danny answered, smiling.

"Sounds good to me, Danny," Mark returned her smile.

Danny rose, and headed for the kitchen with their now empty glasses, then she turned around and gave Mark a peck on the cheek, "Thank you, Mark."

"My pleasure," Mark said, still smiling.

Danny stopped and listened to a strange sound. It sounded far, but she could hear it getting louder and louder as it approached. Mark stood, listening with her. It was an engine, Danny figured, and it was coming this way. It sounded familiar, like she'd heard this particular car not a day or two ago. It was the car that those three vampires at the motel had driven in, Danny realized.

"Should I gear up?" Danny whispered, thinking they must be within hearing distance by now, "These are the vamps we knocked out cold at the motel."

"It couldn't hurt," Mark said, patting down his belt, boot, and a pocket inside his jacket, making sure he had all of his blades. Danny nodded and blurred(**A/N: Blurred is when they use their Vampire speed. Just wanted to clear that up.**) through the kitchen, hallway, and down the stairs and she reached her locker in about three seconds. She quickly grabbed everything from the manikin, her boots and her knife. Just before she left for the small side room to change, Danny glanced to where Damon say tied to the chair. He was bloodied, battered, and unconscious, but even in sleep, he looked as if he'd been the test dummy for sledgehammers for ten years. She saw Michael nod approval for her to gear up, wiping his bloody hands. Danny returned his nod and sped for the room. She practically ripped her clothes off, taking the boot knife she had been wearing and transferring it her other boot as she changed. She took of her grey tank top and whipped on her black one. Her nice jeans came off in a blur as she slipped on the padded black pants, and slid on the hoots as soon as the pants were on, adjusting her boot knife so that it was straight. Danny quickly and quietly strapped her knife to her thigh. She grabbed her jacket and bolted out the door and up the stairs. By the time she reached the top of the staircase, the jacket was on and the hood was up. She could hear footsteps now, they were nearing the stone that preceded the oak double doors. Danny did a last minute check, and closed the door, locking it an sliding the key in a hidden pocket on the inside of her jacket. She checked herself quickly in a mirror hanging above a small table in the hall. She couldn't see her face above the tip of her nose thanks to the hood. The over all look she saw, the black clothes, the knives, and the only part of her face that was visible was her cold smile. She shook her head and cleared her mind. Then she silently made her way to re meeting room, where Mark sat, his hood on but not enough to cloak his face.

"Would you like to answer it?" He asked, the foot steps on the stone ringing in Danny's ears.

Danny nodded, and Mark pulled his hood fully down, shrouding his face in shadow.

* * *

Elena stood before the two large oak doors. She looked up and saw the seal Rico had told them about. This was the place. It had to be. She could really hear anything from inside the house, but she just knew that Damon was in there. If there were only vampires in there, then they wouldn't have to be invited in, they could storm the place. But they had no idea how many were in there. Elena decided to act as a lost traveler and knocked tentatively three times.

The door opened to reveal a slender, narrow girl an inch taller then Elena. She looked menacing, clad in back, her face shrouded by a wide hood to where the only thing that showed was a smirking mouth. The girls hand rested on the hilt of the knife strapped to her thigh.

"Yes?" The girl said in a beautiful, soft voice. There was something else there. Menace? Amusement? Elena couldn't tell if it was one or the other. Or both.

"I'm kind of lost and my phone is dead. Do you happen to have a phone I could use?" Elena asked.

"What do they want?" a man called from the girls right.

The girl turned her head towards the direction of the man, but Elena couldn't tell wether the girl stopped looking at her, "She needs to make a phone call! We still have a phone?"

"Nope," The man said, "Sorry."

"You heard him, girl," She sneered, shrugging, "Can't help you."

Elena suddenly abandoned her facade and her hand shot to the girls pale neck. She squeezed hard, running into the house and slamming her against a wall next to a grand looking stair case. The girl grasped at Elena's arm, hissing like a cat and barring her pure white fangs, but she wasn't strong enough. Elena heard Caroline and Stefan climb out of the car, and the man rise from a couch. But before the man could make it over to them, or Caroline and Stefan, the girl ripped the knife out of it's sheathed and sliced a long, deep gash that traced the vain that ran from her wrist to her elbow. The laceration gushed blood and Elena screamed as she grasped her arm to stop the bleeding long enough for it to heal. But in that moment of weakness, Elena felt the girls small hands not the back of her head, and the last thing that she saw was the girls knee as it surged towards her. Then the world was made of bright lights then it went completely dark as Elena felt a fist slam into her temple.


	5. A Night to Remember

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I hope you like this 5000+ chapter! I try my hardest to make these extra long for you guys since I don't update as much as I'd like to. If you have anything you want to say about the story, please review or PM me. I want this to be awesome for all of ya'll and worth the time it took to find this story! Ok, enough of that, on to the story...**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Vampire Diaries, just my ten OCs (Danny, Alex, Nick, Aaron, Elsa, Tony, Mark, Adam, Jake, and Michael.)**

Danny dropped the stunned body of a girl who she thought was named Elena. Stefan and Caroline looked at her stunned. There was something about their expressions that made her smirk evilly, exposing her unsheathed fangs in the process. They looked as if they had heard a ghost story and it was coming to life, and they were cautious, if not scared of Danny now. She chuckled at what she must look like to them, a slender girl with a hood covering her face and their best friend slumped at her feet. She heard Stefan grit his teeth, and Caroline growl in frustration.

"She was asking for it you know," Danny said in an icy voice, feeling Mark move to her right side, and Adam on her left. With both men flanking her like body guards, Danny walked slowly towards the two intruders. She saw them back up when she was about ten feet away from them, both staring at her with a twinge of anger. Danny stopped, making a show of planting first her right foot, then her left, as she stood shoulder width apart and crossed her arms over her chest.

"So," Danny sneered. "What brings you here? Because I recall that you were not invited here by anyone important."

Stefan gritted his teeth again, "I'm here for my brother."

"Oh," Danny said as if she'd realized the meaning of life, then her voice sounded puzzled, "That's it? You'd die for that arrogant guy?"

"You're not going to kill me," Stefan smirked, trying to peer through their hoods For their faces, and stopping at Danny's with a puzzled look. He looked at Caroline, who nodded in answer at his expression.

"Oh, of course not!" Danny said in mock exasperation. "My friends are just going to snap your frail necks and we'll see what Michael wants us to do with you."

"And what if we don't want to be anywhere near you creeps?" Caroline sneered.

"Oh, you don't really have a choice in this one. Boys," Danny said, smirking again. "Have fun."

Mark and Adam looked at each other, and smiled evilly from under their hoods. Then they turned to Stefan and Caroline, both of them getting ready for a fight. Caroline hissed, flashing her fangs at the two men clad in black as they proceeding methodically towards them. They weren't even phased by her threat, still moving at a slow, steady pace. Stefan surged towards Mark, fangs out as he let out a snarl. Mark dropped as soon as Stefan was close enough and swiped his legs out from under him before he could react. As Stefan tumbled face first towards the ground, confused for a split second as to what just happened, Mark clapped his hands on Stefan's chin and the back of his hand. Stefan's neck was snapped before he hit the cold ground.

Caroline's face went blank in shock at how quickly Mark had taken Stevan out, and in that split second, Adam started towards her. Caroline snapped back and faced Adam. She growled and bared her fangs again, her hands clenched into fists. Adam lunged for Caroline when he was five feet away, hands outstretched and fingers hooked like claws. Caroline sent a fist at his face, making contact and causing Adam to lose his balance for a second. Caroline tackled Adam to the ground, wailing him with punches to his face. After ten punches, Adam stopped first her right, then her left fist with his hands. Adam looked up at Caroline, a small line of blood starting from the corner of his mouth to his chin, and smirked broadly. Then, Adam crushed three to four bones in each of Caroline's hands. She screamed and crawled away from Adam, pressing her wounded hands to her chest. Adam wasted no time. He jumped to his feet and closed te distance between him and Caroline in a second. Adam planted his right foot behind both of Caroline's, then he shoved her back an she tripped over his foot and fell onto her back. Caroline'a breath left her in a wheeze and she groaned with the dull pain of the landing. Adam walked over to her and knelt next to her head.

"Nap time," He said smiling at her.

Caroline looked up at him silently. Adam looked around, Danny was walking back towards the house, and Mark was hefting Stefan's lifeless body from the ground. Adam turned back to Caroline and quickly snapped her neck without hesitation. Adam then slid a hand across Caroline's shoulder-blades and behind her knees and lifted her up. Danny held the door open for the two men as they carried the vampires inside, and shut it behind them. Danny followed the men, Elena slung over her shoulder, as they made their way to the Basement, the creaking wooden stairs announcing their arrival to Michael. Danny laid Elena down and then pulled up three more chairs, and got more vervain soaked rope.

Soon, Caroline sat between Stefan and Damon, and Elena sat next to Stefan, all of them slumped in unconsciousness. Danny saw Mark and Adam standing to the right of the stairs, feet shoulder width apart, hands clasped begin their backs, and hoods still covering their faces. Thinking they were awaiting further instruction from Michael, Danny stood netxt to them, mimicking their stance and starring straight foreword. Danny watched through her peripheral vision as Michael paced in front of Stefan, Damon, Elena and Caroline, looking at them like he could read them like a book.

Then, Michael turned his gazed towards Danny, Mark and Adam. He walked over to them, eyeing Mark first.

"Who's shift is it right now?" Michael asked.

Mark didn't move a centimeter, nor did he shift his gaze away from the far wall, "Danny's, sir."

Michael's eyebrows shot up, his gaze shifting to Danny then back to Mark, "And how did our youngest member do in this situation?"

"She took down the brown haired girl easily, and seemed in control when she talked to the other two."

"What do you mean by in 'control'?"

"She intimidated them," Mark said.

"Very good," Michael said. "Very good. Now I would like for Adam and you to stay in gear. Danny, you can go."

Danny relaxed and headed to her locker, eyeing the four intruders. Danny quickly changed into the comfortable clothes she'd worn not to long ago. She transferred the boot knife back into the new pair that she was wearing, and replaced the gear exactly as it ha been in her locker. Then, just as the four bound vampires were regaining consciousness, Danny used her vampire speed and flew up the stairs and through te door, shutting it silently. Danny threaded up to her room, and gently laid herself onto her bed. She stars up at the white ceiling, thinking of her old family. She missed them all more then she thought possible, felt as guilty as ever for leaving them. Danny needed to see them again, wether it was at her own funeral or while they slept, it didn't matter, as long as she knew that they were alright.

Danny heard the door slowly creak open, and a slight footfall followed. The door shut quietly behind him as Aaron stood next to her bed.

"Hey," He said.

"Hey," Danny said softly, turning her head to look at him.

"I heard you handled yourself pretty well," he smiled.

"I guess I did," Danny shrugged, "But I don't think you came here to congratulate me, so what's up?"

"You are something else Danny," Aaron chuckled, "I was going to let you know that Tony and Elsa will be here in an hour or two. They left on assignment an hour after you did."

"Ok, where are Nick, Alex and Jake?" Danny asked.

"They went into town to grab a snack," Aaron shrugged, "They should be back by the time you're done resting."

"Okay," Danny nodded, "So what're you going to do?"

"Well," Aaron shrugged, "Hang around, maybe. I don't know, really."

Danny chuckled nervously, "This is the first time a guy has wanted to stay with me in my room. I thought I'd die before that would happen..."

"Technically," Aaron pointed our with a snicker, "You did."

"Oh, shut up, smart aleck," Danny said, rollings her eyes. "What are you usually doing at this hour? Instead of intruding on girl's privacy."

"Feeding," Aaron shrugged, "Or sleeping. Sometimes I mix it up and scare Elsa."

Danny laughed, "You are bored aren't you?"

"Very," Aaron admitted.

"Well, I haven't fed in a while," Danny shrugged

"Ah," Aaron said in understanding, "Well, follow me."

Aaron rose and held out a hand. Danny smiled to herself and took his hand as she rose as well and they both slipped through the door and down the hall. They padded down the stairs and turned into the meeting room, then into the kitchen. Aaron grabbed two glasses and Danny snatched a blood bag from the freezer, then they both sat down.

"So," Danny began, "What's your story?"

"My story?" Aaron repeated.

"What you were like before you turned, who turned you, when, those kind of things," Danny elaborated.

"Oh, okay," Aaron chuckled, "Well I was the son of a carpenter, which was what I was learning to be, my mother died giving birth to me, so I didn't know her, but my father said that she was sweet and kind. I grew up in Connecticut during 1890s, and I met the most lovely girl while running errands for my father in 1897, her name was Jessica Smith. She was a beautiful, young girl, probably 16, But she seemed as wise as if she'd witnessed the American Revolution herself. Which, I later found out, she had. She was a vampire, but I didn't know that. We fell in love, and when she fed on me, she compelled me to forget, but she also fed me her blood daily, because she didn't want to lose me. She compelled me to forget that as well, she told me the bite marks she'd left were from a wild animal, and I don't know any better. I never gave it a second thought, because all I could think of was her."

"Then what?" Danny prodded when Aaron took a break to take a drink from his glass.

"She had an ex. A mortal ex, but he was much stronger then I was at the time. And he wanted Jessica back, and she wanted him to go away. So I took it upon myself to stop him from annoying her. Imagi me my surprise when the pig-headed idiot tackles me from his porch! When we landed, I was on the bottom and, boy, was he heavy! Practically crushed my rib cage, but the worst was that he made me land on my head, and I got a really bad concision. When I was dazed from that, the guy was pounding my face in with his fists, and eventually he made my skull cave, which meant I was going to die within hours, but he didn't care. I was unconscious anyways, so he thought he killed me, so he threw me onto the bank of a nearby creek. Then I woke up. I was in transition, but of course I didn't know that. So when everything is on overdrive, I start remembering all of what Jessica did to me. Funny thing was, the only reason I was offended that she compelled me to forget was that she didn't trust me with the truth."

"And you didn't mind that you weren't human anymore?" Danny asked.

"Well, not really," Aaron shrugged, "I still had Jessica, and now that I knew the truth, we could spend eternity together. So I was elated that I had died. We had been dating for a few years, I had moved away from my dad, so he wouldn't miss me, and I had no other family, so I had nothing to begin with anyway. But then, while I was serving in world war 2, a vampire hunter...killed her. When I came back, I found her body rotting with a stake jutting out of her heart. I was furious, I was so angry at that hunter that I tracked him down for a while year, only stopping to fed. And when I found him..."

Danny stared blankly as Aaron broke off into a evil sounding laugh. She gave him a look, "What did you do?"

"Did to him exactly what he had done to me. Only I crammed a years worth of pain into a week," Aaron smiled. "I found him while he was sleeping. So I scared him awake by rattling his pots and pans that were hanging from a rack. Then i used my speed to het behind him and follow him as he checked his kitchen. After he found nothing to worry about, he turned around to see me, in the darkest clothes I had, with as much shadow as you could possibly wish for. Scared him good, cause he knew that I knew that he was unarmed, naked, and as good as dead. I hissed like a cat, which I hadn't done since the 30s, and he went as pale as if he had turned, which gave me an idea. I sped to the doorway just as he reached it and I grabbed his throat and squeezed. I made him black out but I didn't kill him. When he woke up, he was tied to a chair, and I was their starring at him with as much hatred as I'd had for Hitler in those days. Long story, short, I tortured him for a day, force fed him my blood, gave him a slow, and painful death, then when he came back I gave him one drop of human blood so he'd turn, and after that I tortured him like a vampire with vervain and blood starvation. And when the week was out, so was his weak heart."

Danny just stared at him, "And that's when this family started looking for you."

"You_ are _smart," he chuckled, finishing off his drink, "Yes, that's when Nick found me."

"Wow," Danny said, "And if I'm here because Im like you somehow, then what is it that you and me share?"

"I've heard what Alex and the brothers said about you. I've heard how your a natural at this, how, even with no training at all, you've taken out a vampire that's older then you, and successful scared the other two into thinking that they were screwed. They probably think you have your humanity switch off or something, because whenever there's trouble, you don't run, you stand, and you don't even seem to be fazed by it at all. In fact, I think you do better when there's danger, when it's real."

"Wait," Danny said, confused, "Humanity switch?"

"No one's told you?" Aaron raised his eyebrows, "A vampire can turn off his or her emotions. You feel no guilt, fear, or danger. But you can't love, you tend to not care about anyone, you lose compassion. So it's awesome, but it has some setbacks."

"And I act like that when I'm scarring the bad guys?" Danny cocked an eyebrow.

"Exactly," Aaron said, "I, for one, would love to witness it for myself. I heard from the two brothers that when those three vampires showed up, they saw your personality just change. Like the light in your eyes went from a cool flame to a blazing fire. They said that they must have scared those two vamps because they were on either side of you, and you were just you. They said you acted like that was your hundredth assignment."

"Jeez," Danny laughed nervously, "And here I thought I was a nice person."

"You are," Aaron reassured, "But apparently not when someones threatening your family."

Danny shrugged, downing the last of her blood, "It's funny, though. I was always the shoulder to cry on, the one friends trusted with all their issues, cause I always knew what to do. I never was the kind of person that would murder someone though, or snap their necks, trick people. And all of that happened in the part two or three days."

Danny shuddered at that thought. She has done more harm in these past few days then she ever did in her 17 human years. Danny felt sick now, and by the look Aaron was giving her, it was obvious.

"Hey, new vampires emotions are way more exaggerated then normal," Aaron said, "So that means that everything that's good is amazing, and the bad flat out sucks. Trust me, Danny, it's okay. You're alright, still you, but different in a good way."

"Yeah," Danny breathed, "Okay."

Danny remembered the last time she was a human and had to deal with a fight. She remembered feeling nothing but the drive to stop the bully from beating up her friend in 9th grade. Danny had torn off the bully roughly, letting her nails act like claws, digging into the boy'a shoulder. He'd yelped and turned on Danny, blood oozing from his shoulder and staining his shirt. He'd lounged for her, and Danny felt no fear, her icy blue eyes glaring so intensely with indifference and anger that the bully stopped dead in his tracks, long enough for a teacher to march him over to the principals office. Danny remembered blinking a few times as she snapped out of her strange mode, and had helped her friend, who was wandering what had just happened.

"Hello?" Aaron said, waving his hand in front of her face, "Is Danny in there? I'd like to speak with her, please."

Danny blinked, then looked apologetically at Aaron, "Sorry about that."

"What was it?" Aaron said, "'Cause from the look on your face, it seemed pretty memorable."

"You said that when you become a vampire everything becomes more powerful, right?"

Aaron nodded, looking kind of confused.

"Well," Danny continued nervously, "I think I know how I fit in here."

Aaron's eyebrows shot up, "Oh? Do tell."

"Well, when I was in 9th grade, there was this guy who was beating up a friend of mine. I tore him off of my friend and he turned on me instead. But something he saw in my eyes and on my attitude made him stop in his tracks. He stood their long enough for a teacher to drag him to the office. I don't remember feeling anything besides how much I hated him and how angry I was at him. My friend was pretty freaked out about the bully and how I stopped him, but my back was to him so he only saw the bully's face. My friends thought I was bipolar or something, since I was quiet most of the time."

Aaron grinned then laughed loudly, his eyes tearing up slightly, "And you wandered why you fit in here? Geez, Danny! And this was before being a vampire too!"

Danny laughed lightly with him, crossing her arms over her chest, "I guess it should have been a little more obvious."

That made Aaron laugh again, "A little?"

Danny shrugged as she poured herself more blood into her glass and drank, "Yeah."

This time Aaron shrugged, "Training starts for you as soon as we get those four back to Mystic Falls. I would get some rest if I was you."

"Okay," Danny sighed, rising from her seat, "I'll see you tonight?"

"Count on it," Aaron smiled.

* * *

Danny woke to The feeling she was being watched. She looked to the door and saw Nick, in his gear, leaning on the door frame with a small smile.

"We are taking two cars for the way back to Mystic Falls, you're going to be riding with me and Aaron. Jake and Tony will be in a white van. The four vampires are blindfolded, bound, and unconscious for now. Go ahead and gear up, I'll be waiting in the meeting room."

Nick turned and left as Danny got up and followed him. She headed down the stairs into the basement, heading straight for her locker. She noticed Mark and Adam, still in their gear, standing guard over the four bound vampires. Danny changed quickly into her gear, clipping her boot knife in her right boot, she strapped her other knife to her right thigh, and flipped on her hood. She nodded in acknowledgement of Mark and Adam's dedication, to which they nodded their thanks. Danny quickly made her way upstairs and to the meeting room, where Tony, Aaron, Nick, and Jake stood in their gear. Danny entered the room and all the men looked at her. They all smiled at the sight of her in the same black clothing and wide hoods as they were wearing. With a nod from Danny that told him she was ready, Nick lead them back down into the basement where they untied the unconscious vampires, who's clothes were spake through with their blood, and crimson trails marked any exposed skin. Danny felt a pang of pity for these fools, thinking that of they had just listened to common sense and stayed away, they wouldn't be in this sorry state. But the feeling left as fast as it came, they had gotten what they deserved after all.

The men each took a vampire and headed up the stairs with Danny bringing up the rear. They walked through the halls and out the door onto the sprawling front lawn. The girls were tossed into the back of Tony's van while the Salvatore brothers were dumped into the trunk of Nick's Camero. Danny slid into the seat behind the passenger seat, where Aaron sat, just as Nick slipped into the drivers seat and turned the key into the ignition. Danny heard Tony's van rattle to life just after Nicks engine purred.

They were on the hidden dirt road that lead to the Manor for about five minutes before they turned onto the highway, heading south towards Mystic Falls. Danny had overheard some bits and pieces of the small town. She'd heard that it had a history of supernatural influence, that it was a breeding ground for trouble, and also that it was home to a lot of supernatural creatures right now. She also heard that the town had a secret Council that fought to cleanse the town, though most of them hadn't even fought a vampire. How foolish of this humans to think they could evict vampires.

"I heard about your little performance with the three strays earlier," Nick chimed on as he hit 75 miles per hour, glancing in Danny's direction.

"Yeah," Danny shrugged, "Aaron and I talked about that a little while ago."

"Oh?" Nick looked at Aaron.

Danny rested her head on the arm rest, closing her eyes and losing track of the conversation after Aaron started talking about her confrontation with the bully. They were heading to the Salvatore's original home, Danny heard. She'd heard bits of conversation about Mystic Falls, and it's reputation for supernatural infestation. After what little Danny had seen made her scoffed at the notion that the town had formed a Council to combat the vampires. Humans fighting vampires seemed the same as mice fighting against cats to Danny, but she knew there were always exceptions, since hearing about the vampire hunter friend of the Salvatore's. Danny wandered that if she was a vampire, then were there werewolves? Danny didn't want that to be true, since the idea of a person morphing into a wolf made her skin slightly crawl in disgust.

Before she realized it, they were in the outskirts of the town, and Danny sat up, rolling her neck to relieve the knots her little nap had given her. They drove through the town until they reached the Salvatore Boardinghouse. Danny opened the trunk and stood aside, letting the men heft the bodies of the intruders. They were joined by Tony and Jake with the two girls halfway to the front door. Danny knew they had to be being watched by someone if these vampires were even close to being in league with the supposed Council.

Then she saw it, a glint in the shadows. A gun. Danny nudged Nick nonchalantly, a signal that she'd seen something. Nick mumbled "Go." and Danny split off from the group, crouching silently into the brush. She made her way to where she saw the glint of metal and was rewarded with the sight of a muscular man, clad in a camouflage jacket and dark jeans. There was a small pile of wooden rounds that rested next to the man's sniper rifle. Next to the man sat a girl with strawberry blonde hair and brown eyes, a pistol resting uneasily in her frail hands. Both wore matching vervain charms around their necks. Their breathing was a controlled rasp, as if they were trying to slow their heart rates immediately after a hard sprint.

The girl seemed to stand guard, looking in every direction. But Danny knew that was futile. It was pitch black, and she was wearing gear designed for this very purpose: to conceal her body in shadow and eliminate any vestige of sound out of the equation. Danny smirked arrogantly, and slid the knife from here thigh sheath. She held it in a reverse grip in her right hand. She felt her fangs lengthen in the anticipation of a fight, her senses going into over drive. She crept up to where she was no more then ten feet away from the humans.

"What are they, Bruce?" The girl whispered, "Some kind of assassin cult?"

"Something like that, Jewel," The man in camo shrugged, "They punish rogues."

"So why are we doing this if their taking care of our problems?"

"Because," the man whispered hoarsely back, sounding annoyed, "A vampire is still a vampire. And these vampires know the locations of every vampire in New York. We get those to talk, and we can clean up the entire East Coast."

"So we aren't going to kill them?"

"Head shots knock them out, but if I hit the heart they're done for good. But we need them alive to talk."

Danny glanced at the entrance to the boardinghouse. The Salvatore's and the two girls were unbound and laying limply on the front door. They were all still unconscious, and there was something familiar above them. The crest that had been above the door at the Manor was pounded into the door of the boardinghouse, seemingly permanent. Danny looked back at the man, he was laying down behind his rifle, cheek nestled on the butt of the rifle. His finger itched on the trigger. Danny rose slowly and silently, letting the rays of moonlight darken the shadows that covered her face. She could feel her emotions shutting down, closing out everything but the anger at these humans audacity to even think of attacking her new family.

Danny slowly closed the distance between her and the would-be assassins, moving five of the ten feet and starring with hatred in her eyes at them. The girl was the first to notice, screaming and aiming her side arm at Danny's head. But it only clicked. The safety was on. Foolish girl. But the man was up faster then Danny thought possible for a man of his physique. He looked with disgust and hatred at Danny. While the girl was practically cringing away from her and the man stood firm and tall, both had the same look in their eyes that made Danny grin as evilly as possible, her fangs as apparent as they'd ever been: Fear.

Danny blurred to behind the girl and grabbed both of her arms behind her back,, disarming her in the process. Danny used one hand as handcuffs, placing the honed edge of her blade to the girls neck. Danny had sharpened the blade so much that as soon as the blade seemed to touch the girls neck, it seemed, it drew blood.

"What the hell are you doing here," Danny said in a cold monotone.

"We're here for you, bloodsucker," the man said venomously.

Danny pit more pressure on the girls neck, and blood began to flow a little more freely, "I'd be more respectful of the one who holds your girlfriends life in the balance if I were you."

"I don't think you have it in you," The mans voice was firm, but his face was like an open book and he looked as scared as the girl in Danny's arms was trembling.

"I don't know," Danny shrugged and grinned, showing her fangs again, "She might be tastier then she looks."

The girl started to whimper an trembling all the more as the man spoke, "Please don't do this, vampire. I know there's some humanity left in you. Don't kill her, please."

"So you planned on killing probably hundreds of people, but when you have to lose one measly girlfriend, you get all soft," Danny laughed, "Where's that serial killer spirit? Cause I would think of you were planning on cleansing the East Coast, then you'd shoot through your little friend here, since I'm your ticket to the extinction of all vampires."

The man locked his eyes were he thought Danny's were, gritting his teeth, "You're not human, you're a monster. You kill so that you live, and there is nothing that matters to you but yourself. You're despicable."

Danny threw her head back, hissing as her fangs gleamed in the pale moonlight, and sunk her teeth into the girls shoulder. Blood gusted as Danny hit the vein expertly, it was so much better then the blood bags shed been living off of for the last few days. Warm, salty and metallic, Danny couldn't begin to think of anything that tasted better because there wasn't. The girl went limp as she became unconscious, and Danny continued to gulp down her blood. Suddenly, there wasn't any blood left to drink. Danny sighed and dropped the girls lifeless body as if it were spoiled food. She looked up at the man, blood smearing her chin as she breathed through her mouth, fangs still extended. Her breathing was ragged and feral.

The man choked back a sob, then he looked back at Danny. He no longer had that hatred in his eyes, since it was replaced by a volatile mixture of contempt and disgust. He reached into his jacket and drew a wooden stake a foot and a half long with blood stains covering it's sharpened end and it was worn smooth from countless uses where he grasped it with white knuckled tension. He looked hurt beyond description. Tears were welling up in his eyes as he spoke.

"Go to hell!" He roared and surged at Danny as fast as humanly possible, maybe faster. Just as Danny's hand plunged into his chest, the man sunk the stake writhing inches from her heart. Danny let out a low feral growl and tore the mans heart out of his chest before he could kill her. The light left his eyes as he fell in a crumpled heap in the brush next to his girlfriend. Danny looked to her hand, his practically still beating heart in her hands, then back to the two people she'd just killed.

Then she feel to her knees and began to cry softly in guilt. She knew she didn't have to kill that man and his girl, but she did anyway. She should have let them go, let them live their mortal lives as they should have, but she'd taken away that chance for both of them in five seconds. Danny dropped the man's heart and it rolled away from her as as felt a hand rest gently on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Danny," Nicks compassionate voice was as soft as silk and as warming as a fur coat, "It's alright, it was either you or them and we couldn't lose you. Especially me, Danny."

"Oh, God, Nick," Danny practically wailed, rising and burying her head in her chest, "I did this."

"You'll be fine, Danny," He said reassuringly, softly stroking her black hair, twirling her red highlight, "When I'm done with you, you won't ever feel this way again. I'm here for you, Danny. Now, and forever."


	6. Letting Go

**Author's Note: Hey, sorry about the delay, schools tough this year. Still 5000+ words just for you guys! Thank you for the three reviews! Those really helped me out in keeping my motivation for writing the story. The more reviews I get tells me that you like the story, which means faster updates and longer chapters for you guys!**

**Shout out to Aiphira for helping me out with the story! If you guys like my stuff, then go check her story out! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire diaries, only the plot and my ten OCs.**

Danny felt numb all the way back to the Manor. She barely make a sound as she changed from her gear to pajamas and made her way into her room. She slept uneasily on the soft mattress, dreaming of her old life.

She saw her brother drive off in his car to school. Danny always got a ride from him to school but she had to stay home and finish a last minute homework assignment. She remembered the guilt she felt when she heard the news, how she knew she should have gone with him. But then she was transported to his funeral, a sea of people in black clothing with sad faces as they looked towards an open casket. They were in a church with beautiful stained glass windows that casts soft rainbows of color across the dimly lit fellowship hall. Danny was in the back standing in the middle of the center isle, walking with her father to the front of the church and slowly sitting down in the front. She was wearing a modest black dress and her father wore a black suit and tie while her mother wore the same dress as her daughter. Danny looked to the casket and saw her brothers face. His strong jaw and jet black hair looking just like they were the last time she saw him. But she knew, without any doubt even if she wanted to, that her beloved brother was gone forever. And it was all her fault.

* * *

Danny woke with a start, her heart going ten times as fast as it should. Her head ached and she felt someone watching her again. Tony stood in the doorway with the jacket from his gear on with a maroon shirt underneath it. He wore a knife on his left thigh, and dark jeans over combat boots. Danny sighed, rising from her soft bed onto the wooden floor of her room. She noticed it was the middle of the night, an her window looked like it was spray painted black because of the darkness outside. The moon hung just over the trees that surrounded the house.

"Training?" Danny asked.

He nodded. Danny sighed and walked to her closet and picked out some sweat pants and a tank top and slipped them on quickly. Danny slid on her casual boots and tucked her sweat pants into them. Tony had turned his back to her while she changed, but she had a feeling he had sneaked a peak when her shirt had blocked her view as she took it off. Danny walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and nodded then started down the hall to the stairs.

Danny followed Tony out the back door and into the sprawling backyard. It was flat and had lush green grass. Nick stood with arms crossed over his chest, a small smile on his face. Aaron stood in a similar stance but he smirked more then he smiled. They wore plain black shirts and dark jeans. They looked at Danny intently like instructors would, their breaths deep and strong.

"Hello, Danielle," Nick said in monotone, "Today marks the day your initiation begins. During this time we are going to be professional, seeing as that is what we are. Before we begin, I would like to ask you that you refer to us by our original names. You know mine, Aaron once went by the name 'John'. Tony was shortened from Antonio. You got that?"

"Yes, Nicholas," Danny said, trying it out, "I understand."

"Excellent," Aaron chimed in, "Then let's begin."

_Four hours later..._

Danny stood panting in the middle of the three vampires. She wielded her boot knife in a reverse grip since holding it normally wasn't as effective. They had taught her the basics of how to use her blade, and maybe two intermediate moves along with it, and she was supposed to demonstrate those moves before dawn. Tony lunged for her, fist sailing towards her face. But Danny sunk her blade into his forearm and dropped to the ground. Tony's momentum caused him to lose his balance and fly into Aaron with incredible force, the two vampires crumbled to the ground. All that remained was Nick, who was already halfway to her with fangs extended and the veins under his eyes darkening. Danny hit Nick hard in the jaw with her free hand, stunning him. And in that moment, Danny used the elbow of the arm she'd just used, jerking Nicks head to the side and stunning him just long enough for Danny to grab his wrist and flip him onto his back. Nick blinked as Dany mounted him, pressing her blade to his neck.

"Excellent, Danielle," Nick smirked, "You are a fast learner."

"I try, Nicholas," Danny smirked back, offering her hand to him, "I would like to get a drink if you don't mind."

Nick, vampire quick, grabbed her wrist and twisted, making Danny fall onto her back and Nick to mount her just as she had been, he was grinning, "I decide when we fed, got that initiate?"

Danny nodded, "Of course."

"I believe that concludes training, right?" Aaron asked shoving Tony off of him as he rose.

"Yeah," Tony said as he stood, scratching at the now semi healed gash Danny had given him, "We're done for today."

Nick shrugged and headed in through the back through the back door, the other three vampires on his heels just as the sun rose. They went to the kitchen and poured glasses of blood, making small talk as they emptied their glasses. Danny took her phone and logged into her old moms email account and started to scroll through her moms messages, most of them responses of sympathy and encouragement, making a pang of guilt knot in her chest. Finally, she found it, the date and time of her funeral. It was in two days, at the church Danny use to go to to volunteer. Danny sighed faintly and closed her phone before the guys could see her screen. They were talking about an assignment, and judging by how Aaron was laughing nervously, it was his first ever.

"Oh yeah," Nick was saying, stifling a laugh, "You remember his face when we asked him to snap his bones in half because he talked back?"

"I didn't think anyone could have been more confused!" Tony laughed along.

"It wasn't that bad!" Aaron rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Oh, hell yeah it was, and you know it!" Tony said right before he downed the last of his drink.

"And, Miss Queen of Darkness over here," Nick pointed with his thumb to Danny, who was smirking broadly, "Didn't even flinch. And I think she didn't even need us to tell her what to do, while you just stood there like we'd turned your mother before your eyes!"

"Wait, really?" Tony cocked an eyebrow, "Now that your saying that, 'Danny' sounds too soft for her."

"Oh, shut up Tony," Danny rolled her eyes, "I don't need another nickname."

"On the contrary," Nick chimed in, "Your name is all you have, your old name belonged to a girl that died a week ago. So, you don't have a nickname...yet, anyway."

"What would I even be called?" Danny half smiled and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Hmm," Danny turned to see Jake leaning in the doorway, stroking his beard, "How about 'Shadow'?"

"I like it," Aaron said, shrugging.

"You guys are ridiculous," Danny said, shaking her head and burying her face in her hands.

"I'll ask around and see if everyone likes it," Tony smiled, and turned to Danny before he left, "Cause if they all like it, it'll be your new name."

"Nick?" Danny said, ignoring Tony as he left.

"Yes?"

"Can I get my own set of wheels?" Danny asked politely, reminiscing of her motorcycle that she had rode everywhere.

"Yeah, sure thing," Nick smiled, "You want to have the same one you used to have?"

Danny nodded.

"Well," Nick began, "What if I told you that it was brought in when you were in transition, and was sitting in the garage right now?"

Danny's eyes widened, "You stole my bike?"

"If you chose the other option, I would have taken it anyway," Nick smiled.

"And did you happen to take my riding gear with you when you took it?" Danny cocked an eyebrow."

"As a matter of fact, I did."

Danny used her vampire speed and dashed around the large table and gave Nick a huge hug, "You are the best, Nick."

"I try," He smiled.

"Ugh," Jake acted as if someone had spiked his drink with vervain, "Just kiss already!"

"Your just jealous Im on her good side," Nick smirked.

"Whatever," Jake threw his hands up in defense and walked into the meeting room.

Danny have Nick another squeeze and moved just as quickly as she had before into the garage. It was as large as a barn, filled with a vehicle for each vampire that lived there. There was Nick'a Camero, Tony's van, and a truck that no doubt belonged to Jake. Next to the truck sat a pair of solid black convertible 60s Mustangs, which Danny was certain were owned by Mark and Adam. There was another truck that was such a dark red that it was on the verge of black, and the only one Danny could think of who'd own that was Aaron. Alex and Elsa's cars were pretty much the same, a pair of sedans, one black and the other maroon.

Then Danny saw it. Her motorcycle was at the far edge of the garage next to Alex's car, resting against the wall. Her riding jacket, gloves, and helmet sat in a pile on the seat. It was bitch black in color and had the crest of the family above the back wheel in gold. Her helmet was as black as the bike, but had a white picture of a hawk in mid flight in the back. Her gloves were tough and as black as everything else, and her riding jacket was the coolest thing ever, in her opinion. Black leather with a slanting zipper with a belt at her waist. Danny had loved riding up to school in her bike. **(See profile for link to bike)**

She patted her stuff lightly and recited to herself how to het home from here, checking the gas tank as she did so. She promised, as soon as night fell, she would be long gone. Nick and the others would know exactly where she would be going, they were too good not to. But Danny had no doubt that once she made it to the funeral, they wouldn't take her away until she did she went there to do. Plus, by the time they would have found her, the service would almost be though anyway, and it would be in the middle of the day. Danny had looked at the schedule and had seen that it ended at twilight with a lantern send off, where everyone would light a flying lantern and release it into the sky. Then they guys would drag her back home and scold her for leaving without anyone. But she knew that if she didn't go, she would regret it forever.**  
**

Danny left the garage and quietly went to her room. As had to study the history of vampires and her new family. Nick had told her of the records he had left on her desk before he taught her the combat techniques. He hadn't noticed them when she had been changing, but now she lay on her stomach with the records splayed out across her bed. The family was known formally as The Night Guardians. But they were never called that. Thanks to the founding members crest that Danny had seen above the front doors, they were known across the world as The Night Haunters, and that name stuck more thanks to their reputation of how they dealt out punishment. There were countless things that they had done that had sealed their image as ruthless, deadly punishers of rogues and Rippers. Danny read that they trained to be ten times as deadly as Rippers were, so that when they went to hunt them down, the Haunters could restrain them without difficulty.

Danny found records of the vampire Mark had told her about before the Salvatore brothers and their girlfriends had attacked them. His human name had been Ezekiel Matthews. He had been a true prodigy, making the same milestones Danny had, and then some. He learned in half the normal time other vampires took to learn the basic and intermediate techniques, finishing the combat training in two weeks instead of five. He was also a quick study, learning the histories of the Haunters so quickly and thoroughly that he corrected some of the vampires that had been there for five decades before him. Danny was curious about Ezekiel, seeing as he possessed the same ability she had, because she read of it in the debriefing of his first assignment, and the one after, and so on. Danny wanted to meet Ezekiel so he could maybe explain what was different about her then the others. Then she found his stats in the pile and scoffed in astonishment. His kill count was three to four times as high as the others were. It peaked her interest when she found the record of the wolf attack Mark had talked about. The clan had been captured and bound as they watched the werewolf pack of twenty-five take them one by one to be tortured for the things they'd done to the pack. Ezekiel had been frisked while he was unconscious from a vervain tranq dart, and the wolves had to make a separate pile for him because of the amount he had. Ezekiel had written how they had made jokes about him and his arsenal, how unusable they seemed to be and how impractical it was to have so many blades. That is, up until the point where they had daggers thrown into their backs.

Ezekiel had had written that he kept ten knives on him in hidden sheaths, and used them more in combat then any other Haunter, who averaged one to two. Danny wanted to meet him soon, since if he was this good, he'd still be around, even though the records were dated in the 20s.

"Well?" Nick said, entering without knocking, "I see your a good study. How far the first chapter right?"

Dany shook her head closing the book about Ezekiel, "Chapter 3 Section 5."

"Really?" Nicks eyebrows shot up, "How?"

"I dunno," Danny shrugged, "Still got down study habits from my old life, I guess."

"Either way, that's amazing Dan-Shadow," Nick stammered slightly, probably in purpose.

"They approved, didn't they?" Danny buried her head in her hands.

She heard Nick chuckle, "Yeah, they liked it. I'll still probably call you Danny in private though. It's my nickname for you, anyway, since I knew you before all of this."

"You knew me before?" Danny raised her head.

Nick nodded, "Yeah, it was my turn to find a potential. I chose you since you were so strong when your brother passed. I didn't know about the other amazing things about you, though."

"Oh," Danny said shrugging, "Neither did I. Never considered myself anything other then normal. People tried to tell me I was pretty or strong, but I never listened."

"That's because you beautiful and as tough as nails," Nick smiled.

"Lair," Danny accused, but she blushed slightly at the compliment.

Nick chuckled, turning to leave, "Later Danny."

"See ya Nick," Danny called as he closed the door behind him. She took the records and put them back onto her desk, then laid down on her bed. She ran through her plan in her head. It was simple, really. Just sneak out right before training and hop on to her bike and drive like Hell was chasing her. They wouldn't be far behind, but Danny was counting on the speed of her bike to outrun them long enough to evade them. They couldn't track her well if she wasn't even close to them, Danny figured. She didn't want to dare underestimate the Haunters. Her history lesson had taught her of the lengths they would go to to complete their mission, but he also knew exactly what plan they would take and what procedures they had to follow, what rules restrained them.

The rule that Danny was hoping would give her the edge was that they had to travel together on the road, no splitting up unless the mission called for it. And she knew it would be Tony's shift and his van wasn't the fastest around, defiantly not faster then Danny's bike. And Nick would surely be at the forefront of the search party, but Danny didn't think Mark had told them about her funeral. That meant she had thirty minutes, maybe, until Mark called Nick with the news. But that would be enough, Danny was sure of it.

* * *

"Better get some rest," Nick said over his glass of alcohol, "More training tomorrow."

Danny nodded, setting her empty glass on to the table and ridding from her chair. She had come down for a drink and had stated to talk about Ezekiel to the guys, asking them if they knew anything of the prodigy. She found out that he was with the West clan, based in California near LA. He was still alive and was currently inactive, except for the sparse activity that was common, much like what Danny was doing. Nick said that he could request an audience with him, though he didn't use the name 'Ezekiel', but 'Savage' **(A/N: I know what you're thinking, and it has nothing to do with my pen name. Promise.)** Danny scoffed at the name, when he mentioned it. Nick said that he knew one of Ezekiel's friends and that he could probably get an audience with him if she wanted it bad enough. Danny had nodded her thanks, as just then Aaron had butted in when he heard 'Savage' and started telling Danny tall tales about him, to which she nodded and paid attention only when a bit of information caught her attention. Finally, when Aaron had finished, she felt tired.

Danny face planted into her bed. She breathed in the strong scent of perfume residue and fabric softener, thinking of when she'd head to the garage. She decided after five minutes of inner debate that she would sneak in there ten minutes before sundown, since she guessed she would take five minutes to stealthily reach the barn like structure, and five more to change into her riding gear from the clothes she would wear. Danny had a small black backpack that held two of the four blood bags she had in her personal stash that she got the night she woke at the hospital. God, it seemed like years since that happened.

Danny remembered how terrified she was, how deep inside her she was having a class one freak out. But what surprised her is how calm she acted on the outside, how she even fooled Nick, who must have seen so many vampires turn that he should've been able to see right through her. But she convinced even herself that it had been alright when she was transitioning. It must've been her freaky semi emotion switch ability. Danny didn't care anymore, and the last thing she did before slipping into a light sleep was setting her alarm for fifteen minutes before sundown.

* * *

Danny woke five minutes before the alarm sounded. Danny sighed with relief and turned it off before it sounded. She didn't want anyone knowing she was up. Danny slipped into black skinny jeans, and a black tank top. She tucked her pants into her boots as she slipped them on. She clipped her boot knife in between her boot and shin, and slipped another knife into her pocket as a back up. She took the small back pack checking it to make sure everything was there. Her phone, her blood bags, her thigh knife with it's sheath, and a sweater a size too big.

Danny shouldered the bag on and sneaked her way down the stairs. Elsa was cooking something in the kitchen that smelled amazing, but it was making noise, which was loud enough to overpower the little noise Danny made. She snuck past the door to the back yard, where Nick stared out the window in anticipation along with Jake. They turned back to their drinks and Danny silently made her way to the garage, which was on the other side of the Manor from where everyone was. She slithered through the cars to the other side of the garage where her bike sat against the wall, gleaming with the last rats of sunlight as the sun ducked under the trees surrounding the house.

Danny put down her pack and picked up her jacket and gloves, slipping them on quickly. Her human scent, such a familiar thing was now so foreign to her, was all over her riding gear. Danny put on her helmet and flipped the shaded visor down. Now she was completely covered from head to toe in black, her pale skin showing nowhere. Danny mounted her bike and turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life, then slowed quickly into a purr as Danny walked it out into the road.

With a small rev of the engine, Danny shot down the road in a flash, her body and bike blending perfectly with the shadows. She took the normal rout through the dirt path until she reached the interstate. Some drivers looked at her in passive recognition, but some didn't even notice her because of how dark her gear and bike were. It amused her at how ignorant humans are at times. Some of these people, she knew, wouldn't even notice she was there until she spoke. Danny chuckled, remembering that not a week and a half ago, she was just as ignorant since Nick had been able to spy on here for God knew how long.

"I wander how I'm gonna get myself out of this one," Danny muttered, thinking of what punishment her trip would cost her. Surely, it was going to hurt.

Within an hour and a half, Danny came upon the church, and the doors were open. Danny drove her bike behind some large bushes, and dismounted. She slipped off her gloves and helmet, leaving her jacket on, and put them onto the seat. Danny slowly made her way to the church's entrance and slipped in quietly. It was a grand church that had a choir balcony high and behind were the pulpit was standing erect before the wooden pews. She crept up to the choir loft and went over to the darkest corner, one that the suns rays wouldn't touch. It was behind the seats and just under the the grand stains glass windows. She laid down, using her bag as a pillow, and bringing her knees up. She promised herself that she'd wake up at the slightest noise. And just as she saw the first rays of sun spill through the stained glass windows in a rainbow of color onto the carpeted floor, Danny felt herself drift into consciousness.

* * *

Danny jolted upright, immediately looking to the windows. The sun was starting to set, and barely shown through the windows, so Danny was safe a she crept to the edge of the choir loft. The far right edge of the balcony was cloaked in shadow. Danny quickly took off her jacket, slipped on her sweater, she her jacket back on and flipped up her sweaters hood. She made her normally tucked away bangs cover her left eye while her right was in shadow from her hood.

Danny leaned against the wall in the shadows and watched her own funeral unfold before her. She saw her mom, handkerchief patting under her wet mocha eyes, sitting next to her grieving father. They both looked destroyed inside and out, her mother burying her face in her fathers shoulder, sobs racking her body. Her father stroked her hair softly, whispering gibberish to comfort both himself and his wife.

"She's in a better place, Margret," her father, William, spoke softly so only her mother could hear, "She'd want us to move on, because she wouldn't want us to spend the rest of our lives in grief. It's okay, baby."

"I just can't believe she was killed," Margret whispered hoarsely, lifting her head slightly from his shoulder, "She was always strong for everyone else, why would anyone want to take my baby?"

Sobs broke anew from her dry lips as she buried her head into his shoulder again, softer this time, William's lip quivered and a tear silently fell from the corner of his green eyes. Danny watched as they sat there, folded into each other in a grievous embrace. A sob rose in Danny's throat at the sight of it. Every cell in her body wanted to jump from the thirty foot high balcony and run to her parents, so that they could see that she was alright. That she was still with them, that they weren't alone.

Danny's hand knotted over her heart, clutching a part of her jacket to keep from screaming to her lonely parents, it did just enough to restrain her. Then he saw her Uncle Johnny emerge from the small crowd in the parlor. He strode down the isle, his brown hair falling into his chocolate eyes. As soon as her mother saw him, her expression darkened. What was wrong? Danny hadn't seen him since her brother died. Her mother never looked at anyone that way. Margret slowly turned back to her husband, who looked stone cold at his brother in law.

"What are you doing here, John?" Danny's dad said with a slight edge to his voice, like he would have liked it to be as cold as the South Pole, but he just didn't have the energy.

"I came to grieve my niece," Johnny said with a quick smile. Too quick to belong t a funeral.

"Please," Margret's voice broke slightly, her voice hoarse from her crying, "I don't want you here, not after what you've done."

"What?" Johnny looked hurt, "Accidents happen, dear sister, why can't you forgive me?"

"Because," Her voice quivering, "I do not want to deal with the loss of my only remaining child in the presence of the one who killed my son."

Johnny looked shocked at the words that seemed to have ice sickles hanging off of them, despite the kind Margret breaking into a sob soon after. Never had Danny expected this, neither her mother's reaction or her uncles behavior fully registered in her brain. Her uncle was the reason she had lost her beloved brother? How can that be?

"I'm sorry, Margret," John said softly, but Danny could tell there was no remorse in is voice, "I regret every day of my life because of what happened. I shouldn't have run that red light so fast. It's all my fault."

Danny growled like a mad wolf, feeling her fangs lengthen as the thought came immediately to her mind. What was it? Hatred? Disgust? No, it was both. It was the need to avenge her brother. To kill. It took all of Danny's will power to stay put as Johnny's sad excuse for a body left the chapel and into the parking lot. White hot anger burned within Danny, as she absently tossed her blade up an down like she always did now.

The funeral went on, the sympathizers flooded in slowly, filing into the pews of the church. Everyone, even people Danny had never even spoken a word to or met, had a genuine mask of sadness and pity for the family. Danny could see it etched into their faces. Of course there were some who didn't care to be there, but the atmosphere was so depressive that it seemed complaining about being there would be the highest offense they could commit.

"Wait," one of Danny's friends whispered, confused and scared, "Is that her ghost? Look up there, see that girl in those shadows?"

"Is she tossing a knife?" A guy whispered after her glanced at Danny, "Wait, is se haunting us?"

"I don't know," Danny's friend said quietly, "But that's not what she wore at all. She never wore all black like that, and never even went near a knife. That can't be her."

"Yeah," the guys said, "But still that girl is giving me the creeps. Who stands in te shadows in head to toe black with a knife during a funeral."

"Yeah," Danny heard the girl shiver, "Creepy."

Danny heard the stairs to the balcony creak under the weight of three foot falls. Two big and masculine, and one female. Danny crouched low, readying her blade. The stair case was in shadow, so Danny didn't see the silver dart rocketing towards her till it was too late. It sink into her neck, and she could feel every iota of vervain enter her bloodstream. Black closed around her vision, an the last thing Danny could see and hear was Damon and Stefan Salvatore make their way to her.

Damon crouched down, smirking broadly, "When you wake up from your beauty sleep, it'll be your time to talk princess. And trust me, you will talk when I'm through with you."


	7. Vengeance is best served from the vein

Danny moaned with the dull ache of hunger as she opened her eyes slowly. There was a bright light shining in her face, it looked like a flashlight. Danny felt her hands and ankles bound with vervain-soaked rope as she felt the acid touch of them. Her jacket was laying next to her, and she shivered as a small draft slid across her bare shoulders. Danny heard whispered voices all around her, some she recognized and others totally foreign to her. But they all had the same pattern, the same topic. They were talking about "the girl" or the "assassin". She couldn't help but smirk for two reasons.

One was that they seemed to be extremely cautious of her like she could break free at any moment, and the other was that she could already feel her emotions shutting off. Fear was the first to vanish, then paranoia, next was exhaustion, pain, and confusion. Soon, nothing was left but her hatred to these people and her determination to find a way to break out of here. She looked down and saw that her thigh knife was gone, but her smirk grew when she realized they'd missed her boot knife. And thanks to her boots, the vervain rope wasn't burning her and the hilt of the knife was close enough for Danny to lift her leg and be able to grab it. She knew she'd sharpened that knife so much that as soon as it touched the rope, it would slice right through it. Danny could escape at any moment now, but the thought of finding more information about these guys was just too intriguing. She would string these guys along, she decided, and see how they can be.

"I see you're, awake, princess," She heard Damon say in a sickly soft voice behind her.

Danny remained silent, her smirk still wide.

She felt a fist slam into her temple in response, "Wipe that smug look off your face, or I'll burn it off with a bucket of vervain."

"Threats don't work on us, Damon," She said in the coldest voice she'd ever used, "At least not me anyway."

"Oh really?" Damon scoffed, "Well, then you won't mind if I do it anyway? I've always wandered if this much vervain could melt the persons skin right off."

Danny merrily waited for the acidic liquid, prepare ing herself for incredible pain. Then it came, a rushing torrent of acidic vervain that burned like she'd taken a nose dive into a furnace, and it felt like she had drunken sulfuric acid but the gallon as the liquid slid down her throat. Danny gritted her teeth, hissing in harmony to her burning and smoking skin. She felt her fangs lengthen in hatred towards the low life's that were making her go through this. The vervain soaked her tank top and pants completely, leaving her with a dull stinging as the liquid lingered while the rest had burned away with her skin.

As the pain subsided, and as her skin began to heal, Danny grinned, "So was it worth it?"

"Eh," Damon sighed, "I still have half a bucket."

Danny chuckled, but couldn't contain her amusement and busted out in an evil laughter, "Bring it on, Damon, if you want to see what happens when I'm soaked with a bucket full of vervain then at least use the whole bucket instead of saving half of it to play mind games with me!"

My answer was the rest of the bucket. But I was expecting the pain and endured it, willing my face to show no emotion at all. In the ensuing silence that followed the singing skin, Danny heard one girl in the shadows shiver from fear. Danny smirked broadly enough to reveal a pearly white fang, and mentally pat herself on the back since she succeeded in keeping a stone-cold expression through a vervain bath.

"You done, Salvatore?" Danny cocked an eyebrow.

He blinked, "Well, I don't have anymore vervain if that's what your asking."

Danny chuckled, "And you're no closer to your information."

"We know where you live, love," A British accented voice chimed in evilly.

"Ask Stefan and Damon over here how much good that would do you," Danny rolled her eyes and chuckled at the memory of knocking out Elena.

"Oh, there's no need for that, love," The voice sounded again, amusement in it's tone. "I already know all about you and your little cult."

"Cute," Danny smirked, "how you say you know everything and still call it a cult."

"Don't be smart with me, girl," He sounded slightly agitated, "I could rip your heart out and snap your spine so fast that you would think it was at the same time."

"Threats are just as useless as torture," Danny sounded bored, "Did I forget to mention that?"

"No," Stefan said, coming into view. "But I don't think we're threatening the right people."

"Oh?" Damon said. "Like that Uncle Johnny you were mumbling about in your sleep?"

Danny made her expression surprised with just enough fear in it to be creditable. Damon, as Danny suspected, saw this immediately and smirked at what he thought was triumph. He looked past Danny and gave a quick nod. The sound of a vampire disappearing through a door instantly followed. Danny was trying so hard to keep up her facade of fear. Since she was playing them so she could avenge her brother's death, it was hard to keep from smirking. But her face remained stone-cold.

"What're you going to do to him?" Danny asked, letting just the right amount of fear and uncertainty into her voice to complete the act.

"Oh, nothing," Damon smirked in triumph, "Just leverage."

"Don't you dare!" Danny forced herself to sound scared but like she was trying to hide it, "This is between you and me, leave my family out of it!"

"If this is the only way we get what we want, then we will do it," Stefan said matter-of-factly.

Danny let out a feral growl, "Cowards."

"Watch your mouth, love," the british voice said. It came just as a strong man with a mess of curly blondish hair walked out of the shadows. He crossed his arms over his chest. Danny saw in his eyes hundreds of years of experience in them, and a deadly knowing look that made Danny think that he could read her mind. The man grinned at Danny, who pretended to struggle against the ropes to et away from him because of fear. He chuckled at this, his arrogance and confidence solidifying as soon as he was sure she was scared of him.

"Who are you?" Danny made her voice cold.

"Niklaus Mikaelson, pleased to meet you," He bowed.

"The Original?" Danny blurted, remembering him being mentioned in the histories of the Night Haunters.

"Ah, good, you've heard of me," He said, "So you must know what I can do."

"I might," Danny shrugged, her face still stone.

"Is your emotion switch off, love?" Klaus asked, raising his eyebrows.

"What's it to you?" Danny sneered.

"I'm going to take that as a yes, love. No offense, but you don't strike me as the type of girl that can look death in the eye."

"Why do you care if my emotions are off?"

"So I can turn them back on. That way, you'll be as scared if me as you should be, love."

"And how are you going to do that?"

"Are you familiar with compulsion, my dear?" He grinned.

"Yeah, but you can compel other supernaturals, stupid," Danny rolled her eyes.

"Come on, love," He sounded disappointed. "You must know that Originals, like myself, happen to have an entirely different rule book."

"Are you saying you can make me turn my emotions back on by compelling me?"

"Bingo! Very good, love," He smirked, then he looked into her eyes to compel her, "Turn them back on, love. I want you to turn those precious emotions back on."

Danny waited for something to happen, looking into his eyes in anticipation of fear and pain rushing back to her. But nothing happened, and Danny knew why.

"Well," Danny began to lie, "This is awkward, but I think Damon here splashed me with so much vervain that I think I swallowed some. Sorry to disappoint, guys."

Niklaus looked furious, growling angrily, "Well then, guess we'll make you talk when Uncle Johnny comes to town, then. But, just for your smart aleck attitude, I suppose you deserve some alone time. Or starving time, as I prefer to call it."

"Aww," Danny sounded sad, but she underlayed it with a twinge of fear and nervousness, "And I was just getting used to your disgusting scents."

In response, Danny was backhanded so hard her neck almost snapped. She heard five sets of footsteps leave the dark room and a heavy door slammed shut.

The bright light shining in her face shut off and Danny found herself in an old apartment with deep cracks spreading like vines across the walls and ceiling. Old and crumbled papers and bottles were strewn about the shredded carpet floors. The furniture was rotting and in splitters with the molding cushions sitting resolutely on the floor with their feather stuffing spilling out like blood. It looked like the scene from a horror drama show, and it would have creeped Danny out if she hadn't gone into her cold mood. With her enhanced hearing, Danny could her mice scurrying and cockroaches crawling in the walls, and the sounds made her shiver.

Close to five hours later, the door was gingerly opened as if they thought she was sleeping and wouldn't notice. A girl stepped in, the same girl she'd knocked out during their last skirmish. Elena, Danny remembered her name now, strode quietly into the room, closing the door behind her. Elena had a blank expression on her face, but there was something in her eyes that made Danny smirk evilly. It was uneasiness, the beginning of fear as far as she was concerned. And Danny would like nothing more then to see this girl afraid of her.

"Who are you?" Elena asked gingerly, pulling up a relatively undamaged chair.

"Night Haunter," Danny answered, looking her dead in the eye.

"I asked 'who are you', 'not what are you'," She sighed.

Danny just shrugged and continued to look at Elena.

"They'll kill your uncle if you don't give them what they want. I came here to readon with you before you end up getting that on your consciousness."

"From what I can tell," Danny said in monotone, but she let her eyes tell Elena how supposedly nervous she was, "You don't know what vampires with no emotions don't have remorse."

"Oh I think I know," Elena said having a sort of flashback moment, "And when you turn them back on, you'll regret it all."

"I doubt that," Danny said with a shrug. "Along with threats and torture, pleading doesn't do anything either. So, you can go now, since your presence here doesn't do anything but waste your time on a lost cause."

"Whatever those assassins did to you, I can help," Elena said as a last ditch effort.

"Hello? Have you been paying attention? I'm one of those assassins you're talking about, stupid," Danny chuckled.

"You don't have to be," She sounded as if she was finally realizing the pointlessness of this.

"You ready for the shocking truth?" Danny said it as if she was about to reveal the secret to the universe, "I chose to be a vampire and become a Night Haunter."

"What?" Elena looked shocked.

"It's true," Danny's icy blue eyes narrowed, "So quit acting shocked to hear it. You've obviously heard about us, so you know that you have to be chosen to be a Haunter, but you also have the choice not to be."

Elena looked down, then rose from her chair, "I feel bad for you. I don't know where you came from, what your name is, or what you've done, but I feel bad for you. I hope you come to your senses before you end up killing your uncle."

Danny made her face make it look like that last bit affected her, "Whatever. I don't need your pity."

"Good luck," Elena said, turning and leaving the room quietly.

Danny rolled her eyes and relaxed in her chair. She slouched as much as the restraints would allow. Danny waited many hours, hearing hoarse whispers about her and what they will do with her. Danny barely listened, and thought of only the Night Haunters and her soon to be killed uncle. She knew it wouldn't be long before either the Haunters tracked her down and freed her, or if her uncle was brought in and Danny would execute her plan. Either option would result in Danny's safety and punishment by her brother and sister Haunters. But Danny was hoping that she would be able to kill her murderer of an uncle before she was brought back to Michael. Finally, Danny's thoughts were interrupted by the door creaking open.

"Wakey wakey, love," the voice of Niklaus was unmistakable, "There's someone her to see you."

Danny's heart leaped in happiness at the sight of her uncle being dragged into the room and dropped in a heap before her. She would have her wish of vengeance.

"He won't be so healthy unless you start talking," Niklaus said, noticing Danny's spike of happiness and misinterpreting it to think she was happy to see that her uncle was alright."

Danny looked angrily at Niklaus for threatening to take her kill from her, "Shut up."

"Did I hit a nerve, darling?" Niklaus smirked.

Danny growled the most feral way a vampire could, gritting her teeth as her fangs instinctively extended and the veins under her eyes darkened with her rage. She looked at the British man with a look as cold as her icy blue eyes. She thought she saw him recoil at the look in her eyes, but he regained his composure so quickly Danny thought she was just kidding herself. But there was something in not only Niklaus' eyes, but everyone of the vampires in there. They seemed confused and shocked at something in Danny's gaze. To herself, without changing anything about her expression, Danny wandered what could have gotten them like that.

Niklaus left quickly, mumbling about a girl named "Rebekka" to Stefan as he left. But everyone else in the room either took a step back or shivered out of fear due to her cold gaze. Danny looked to her uncle, whom was petrified. He sat with the shock of realizing his niece was still alive and the terror of what she'd become all over his dirt smudged face.

"D-" Uncle John began, but Danny hissed so feral that her name died on his lips before it could be heard. He tried something else, "What did they do to you, baby?"

Danny blinked, then cocked an eyebrow, "You think they did this to me?"

He looked around the room, then looJed at her again and nodded, "Yeah, I do."

"Well," Danny began, hearing a light step on the fire escape outside and readying herself for what she knew would surprise just about everyone in that room, "You'll find that you were wrong real soon."

Then it happened, and Danny's whole demeanor changed the instant it did. Two Haunters burst through the window at Danny's back, and moonlight spilled into the room. They both attacked the Salvatore brothers as Danny put her plan into action. She lifted her leg as high as she could, and grabbed her boot knife from its sheath. She thrust the blade through the vervain soaked rope on both of her wrists and slashed away the bindings on her feet. Without a moments hesitation, Danny used her enhanced speed to instantly appear behind her uncle, who looked as confused and scared as a man could. Danny put the blade to his throat and hissed with rage.

"What'a going on?" He said shakily.

"You're about to die, you pathetic piece of crap," Danny growled.

"What? What did they do to you?" He looked scared and shocked.

Danny chuckled evilly, "'They' didn't do anything to me. I'm still the beautiful little girl you remember, John, but I got rid of my weakness. Now, I'm going to-"

"Shadow," Nick's voice was dead serious as he and Jake stood over the unconscious Salvatore brothers, "Hurry up, and deal with him. We have other matters that need attending."

"Fine," Danny growled, not taking her eyes of her kill. "Count your self lucky, cause it was gonna make this painful and slow. Now, I bid you farewell. Forever."

Danny sliced all the arteries and veins in his neck with such speed and fluidity I looked like one motion. Blood gushed from his neck as John gripped his neck to stop the bleeding, but the blood seeped through his fingers in a river of crimson. Danny, realizing through her adrenaline that she hadn't fed for two days at least, ripped his hands from his neck and sucked him dry of his blood. Satisfied, Danny dropped the lifeless body of her former uncle at her feet and stepped over it to where she found her jacket and sweater. She quickly slipped on the sweater, then her riding jacket, and pulled the hood up and position that had the same effect as her Haunter jacket's wide hood.

"Alright," Danny said, everything but her blood soaked chin cloaked in shadow, "Let's go."

* * *

When they got back from getting Danny, Jake and Nick had thrown her into her room and locked her in until Michael decided her punishment for leaving. She heard muffled conversations below her, along with the usual sounds of blood being poured, vampires sparring and footsteps throughout the manor. Danny caught a conversation between Jake and Nick as they strode slowly to her room, but it died down just as they got within range of Danny's hearing.

"Hey, Shadow," Jake said as he knocked gently on her door. "I got good news and bad news."

"What's the bad news?" Danny intoned.

"Your punishment has been decided. Michael says that, though you had a reasonable reason to leave, it was still unsanctioned. So you'll be punished with the vervain mist chamber."

"If that's what it sounds like, I'm not going to shrug that off, huh?" Danny sighed.

"'Fraid not," Jake said.

"The good news is that I got you in with Savage's branch, and Michael approved it. It's all been settled, you'll be temporarily transferred to the West Branch until further notice." Nick said.

Danny was elated at the thought of meeting, and working, with Ezekiel Matthews. Though she was still worried about the mist chamber. Danny looked out her window, her back against the door, "When are either of those going to happen?"

"The mist chamber has been decided to happen at midnight tonight, and your transfer will be tomorrow night at the same time," Nick said, "I'll be with you for both."

"You're going with me into the chamber and to California?" Danny looked at him incredulously.

"Yes," He answered solemnly, "You're my responsibility until you are fully trained, and I take that very seriously."

Danny was flushed with a weird sense of gratitude and of being impressed by Nick, "Jeez."

"Yup, that's Nicholas for you," Jake chimed in. "C'mon, Shadow, we got to get you into some clothes for your punishment. Same goes for your boyfriend over here."

"Boyfriend?" Nick shot a venomous glare at Jake, who went ridged and quiet instantly, then looked at Danny with an apologetic smile, "Sorry."

"No need to apologize," Danny said, feeling herself blush and scolding herself for it.

"Anyways," Nick said, "Let's go, we have an hour."

"Right," Danny nodded.

They went to the basement quickly. Jake showed Nick and Danny to two completely white sets of clothes. Danny got a white tank top and white skinny jeans, while Nick got a crew neck undershirt that looked a size too small and showed off his muscles, with a pair of completely bleached jeans. Nick nodded to Jake when they were ready, and they were off. Jake lead them to the barn. Danny was surprised to see Jake kneel down on the far side of the barn and open a door to a staircase not unlike the one leading to the basement under the manor. Nick and Danny were completely silent, verbally and with their movements, as they followed Jake to a open room. At the far right was a plexiglass wall that showed the chamber in it's entirety. It was relatively simple, with nozzles in every wall in a black dot grid that stood out from the grey metal walls.

"Welcome, Danielle and Nicholas," Michael said, appearing seemingly out of nowhere in front of them, "I'd like to get this over with. I don't like punishing my family, but I also am offended that you'd leave like you did, Danielle."

Danny bowed her head in apology, and placed her right fist over her heart to show her sincerity, "I'm truly sorry for my reckless actions, sir."

"I'm glad," Michael smiled slightly, "That makes it a lot easier for you, initiate. And your trainer, as well."

Nick nodded, "Yes, sir."

"Well," Michael sighed, motioning to the glass enclosure, "Let's get this over with."

Danny and Nick nodded, silently walking into the chamber. They stopped in the middle of the decently sized plexiglass chamber. Danny was so anxious about the pain she would soon face, that she fell to her knees and bowed her head. Her breath came in shudders, and her black hair fell over her eyes, the red streak in it was as deep as crimson. Danny sat back on her heels and clasped her fists on her thighs, her already pale knuckles became completely white because of it. Danny heard Nick slowly lower himself to the same position as she was, and appeared to struggle to breath calmly. Danny knew that he knew how much this would hurt, which scared her all the more.

"For leaving us without permission, evading us for forty-eight hours, and therefore endangering your brothers and sisters in arms, I sentence you, Dannielle, the the punishment of the Chamber of Ashes," Michael said through an intercom in a purposeful, and intimidating monotone, "May the fires cleanse you, and aid in atoning for your transgressions."

Then the intercom cut out and Danny heard the nozzles breath out their acidic mists. The instant Danny sensed the fog was near, white hot pain seared through every exposed body part. Agony couldn't be but fifteen times too small a word to describe it. Soon, her clothes were soaked and now every part of her felt ablaze with pain. Danny felt saturated by it, engulfed in a never ending inferno of anguish. There was no safety net from her strange emotionless side this time. She had no way from the pain. But much to her surprise, Danny realized she felt she was able to coop with the agony suddenly. She realized she had grabbed onto Nicks arm five minutes ago and gradually found herself in his arms. Danny blinked and smiled to herself, hoping Nick wasn't looking as she did it. As the ten minute mark ticked by, Danny was still feeling as though she were being burned alive, but she felt safe and strong in Nick's embrace.

"Alright," came Michaels voice over the intercom, "That concludes your punishment, initiate. According to the orders that I have issued out, you and your trainer are to pack your bags and be on your flight to Las Angeles by this time tomorrow. Is that understood?"

Danny and Nick placed their right fists over their chests, "Yes, sir."

"Dismissed," Michael said, and disappeared with his vampire speed.

Danny went and silent changed out of her white ensemble and back into her dark clothes. As she slipped her boots on, Nick walked in already back in the clothes her wore before the punishment. Danny nodded and stood up. Nick turned and Danny followed him back up to her room in silence. Danny immediately began packing for her transfer. Nick had brought her a suit case, but it was too big since Danny basically had the outfit she was wearing four times over. Nick was the same way, so packing for either of them was extremely easy. When they had finished, Nick took both of their bags at the door for when they were to leave.

"Its daytime," Nick said, "We should rest until we have to go."

"Alright," Danny sighed, "I'll see you then."

* * *

Danny didn't really sleep the entire time. She laid on her bed in her normal ensemble of dark clothes and knee-high boots, staring absently at the ceiling. All she could think about was where she would be within the next two days, and what it would be like to meet Ezekiel. But through those bittersweet thoughts, something nagged at the edge of her mind: Nick. She'd been confused at how safe and calm she felt in his arms, yet she had never thought of him in a romantic way. Until now it seems.

Before she could think deeply about that, Danny realized it was night again and headed down stairs reluctantly. Nick was already in the meeting room saying his goodbyes to the rest of them. Danny quietly joined them, moving towards the tray of alcohol. After pouring a glass of bourbon, She sat in the same spot as when she first came into the house of her own will.

"Hey, Shadow!" Aaron exclaimed, obviously drunk, "Glad your not dead!"

"Yeah," Danny took a sip of her bourbon, "Me too."

"I know we haven't really talked," Elsa said a tad sheepishly, "But I'll miss you, Shadow."

"Me too," Danny said, nodding, "I just wish we could have had some time to get to know each other better."

"Well," Aaron chimed in, "I have barely trained you, and I'd say that you could give every one of us a challenge if you wanted to. You are a prodigy, you know that? I feel sorry for the first guy you fight after you complete training."

Danny chuckled, "Yeah, I guess."

"I second that," Tony raised a fist with a smile.

Danny rolled her eyes, "You guys have way too much faith in me."

"No," Nick's voice sounded a tad stern, "They don't. You have no idea how good you have to be to impress us, Shadow. And how impressive you are in spite of the fact that you were a weak and shy human only two weeks ago, is as astonishing to us as when we heard the tall tales about Savage and the West Branch."

Danny was shocked and extremely proud of that statement, but her humble nature covered up enough of it to make her look like she was pleased with the complement, "Thanks. That means a lot more then I can say."

"Good," Nick cracked a smile, "That settles that."

"Yup," a drunk Alex laughed, the whiskey in her hands sloshing around, "You can say that."

"You know she'a gonna have the worst hangover tomorrow, right?" Mark cocked an eyebrow at Adam, who had Alex in his arms as she hugged him like a teddy bear.

"I know," Adam smirked, "But guess who's got an assignment around the time she'll be waking up?"

"Smooth." Mark rolled his eyes.

"And guess who's got guard detail when she'll wake up?" Aaron groaned.

"I feel so bad for you, my friend," Nick said in mock seriousness, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Lair," Aaron grumbled, "You're all jerks you know that?"

"Except me, right?" Danny smiled softly.

"Normal you or Queen-of-Darkness you?" Mark smirked.

"I'm a jerk when I'm like that?" Danny cocked her head sideways.

"You're bossy and terrifying when you get that way," Mark smirked.

"Shut up," Danny rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, Danny heard the old clock chime as it struck 11:00 p.m. Nick sat up, and Danny placed her half empty glass of bourbon on to the oak coffee table. They both said their final goodbyes, Danny hugged every one of them tightly before they left while Nick just nodded to each of them. Danny already missed them terribly as soon as she stepped over the threshold of the manor. She wished she wouldn't miss them like she would never see them again, because she could already feel it eating away at her. These people, these vampire assassins, were the first people in Danny's life that had made her feel safe and at home. She was leaving the first true home she'd ever really had and it pained her to do so.

Suddenly, and much to her relief, Danny could feel that she could use her strange alter ego to suppress her loneliness. It made her wander, if she practiced, she could use it at will. That thought scared and excited Danny. It kept her mind off of her family, her true vampire family, almost all the way to L.A.


	8. In The Dead Of Night

Danny walked silently next to Nick under the deathly black night sky. She pulled her hood down so it covered her eyes, since it wasn't her Gear's hood it wasn't so effortless to cover her face like it did. Nick was wearing his Gear though, since it was his after all, and Danny didn't have her own since she was just borrowing the Gear from the East Branch's basic set for initiates. Danny would get to select her Gear when she completely finished initiation and took the blood oath to the Night Haunters. She overheard Michael telling Nick that she was going to complete her training with the West Branch. Danny didn't mind that, since she would most likely train with the ever so mysterious Ezekiel "Savage" Matthews.

"We're getting close, Danny," Nick whispered making it appear that he was making a move on her so no one would think to listen in, "They only know you by reputation. And these guys are notorious for their skills. This is where all the Prodigies usually end up, and that's what you are."

"I have a reputation?" Danny smiled, both to complete the facade they were putting on and because she was proud of that fact.

"Yup," He smirked, "You're Shadow, the first female Prodigy of the Night Haunters. And not to mention you survived the interrogation of the Original Hybrid Vampire. Just one of those get you serious credit."

"I see," Danny blushed, pleased with herself, "Well, I can't wait."

"Neither can I," Nick smiled, moving his arm from her shoulder, "Remember, don't show any weakness to these guys, especially their leader and Savage."

"Savage isn't the leader?" Danny looked confused.

"No, the leader of the West branch's South District is the First Prodigy, Nathaniel Steele," Nick said, "And he is the strongest and toughest one of them all."

"Aren't all vampires strong?" Danny cocked an eyebrow.

"Not as much as him," Nick shrugged, "I heard that he'll lift 500 pounds on one arm just for kicks."

Danny's eyes widened, "That's crazy."

"Couldn't agree more." Nick nodded, then he stopped.

Danny took another step past him before she realized that he'd stopped and turned to look at Nick with a puzzled face. Nick glanced at Danny, then back to where he had been looking. Then he pointed mutely at the a wall plagued with graffiti. Danny looked and looked and finally saw it. It was the crest of the Night Haunters spray painted in black in the only clear spot in the wall. A blood red arrow pointed straight down below it to a boarded up window. Danny looked at Nick and both nodded silently as they headed for the window. Danny saw that it was boarded up strong enough for a vampire to easily lift it, but anyone else would have to make a lot of noise to brake it down.

"Alright," Nick said as he placed his hands on the boards, "From this point on you are Shadow. And you have no weaknesses."

"Got it," Danny nodded.

Nick smirked and his demeanor instantly shifted. He seemed to become harder and colder then she was used to, but she could still see the easy going light in his eyes. Danny called upon her alter ego and made herself dead serious with a deadly aurora around her. Nick broke quietly into the window and motioned for Danny to enter first, which she did. Nick slipped into the window behind her and reboarded the window just as silently. Danny's eyes adjusted to the dark instantly and she saw a dimly lit corridor that had piles of trash littering the sides of it with rats scurrying inbetween them. There was a certain stench of death to it that made Danny's inner vampire smile. Nick silently walked toward the end of the walkway, where Danny saw a steel door with a small peephole.

Nick pounded four times hard then slightly tapped it twice with his knuckle. Danny soon heard two seperate sets of foot steps approach behind the door and stop before it. The peephole slid open with a rustic grind that made Danny shiver instinctivly. A set of black eyes stared menacingly at Danny, flicking to Nick with a slight flash of recognition that soon died. Nick simply stared back as if waiting for them to say something.

"State your business," A deep voice sounded through the steel.

"In nomine noctis quaeritur vestibulum," Nick said the Latin phase with perfect articulation. (Translation: "In the name of the Night, we ask entrance.")

"You may enter," The voice said after a few seconds of silence.

The heavy rusted steel door groaned open to reveal two Haunters in full Gear with their hoods up and folds of cloth covering their faces from the nose down. Nick nodded solemnly to them and walked past them through the door. Danny followed him as he walked through the corridors, taking turns purposefully as if he's been there before. The walls were dank and wet, old wooden pallets and overflowing metal garbage cans were pushed to the sides of the pathways but still seemed to get in the way. Danny thought the pathways looked like some sort of network of secret tunnels, since every few turns or straight paths lead to another heavy door. Nick had a look in his eyes, Danny noticed, like bittersweet memories were assaulting him in a relentless torrent. Every now and then he would smile halfheartedly or look saddened by something. Danny wandered what happened the last time Nick was here, since he obviously had a history here.

Nick finally stopped at another steel door after a few turns. It had a steel plate bolted above the door frame with a phrase crudely etched into it: "Silentium omnium inimicorum suorum, et non sit qui supersunt". Danny looked over the phase over and over again. It sounded to her like a motto, like this was something that summed up a part of the Night Haunters.

"'Silence all enemies, and let none survive'." Nick translated glancing up at the words, "That's the way of the West Branch, it's their creed."

"So these guys are the real deal, huh?" Danny said.

"They have to be, since the worst rogues are here." Nick shrugged.

"Really?" Danny asked as Nick shoved open the door.

"It's LA," Nick said over his shoulder as he entered the door, Danny closing the door behind them. They went down two flights of stairs and took another set of seemingly random turns until they reached a ladder. The manhole cover at the very top of the ladder was slightly ajar and letting in what seemed like candlelight. The bars of the ladder were rusty and dirty, leaving orange dust where Danny grasped the rungs. She was surprised that these old bars cold hold her weight, let alone Nicks heavy frame and muscle. They reached the top in next to no time, only halting when one of the rungs halfway up the ladder actually did give.

Nick shoved the cover off the exit and pulled himself up and out, holding a hand for Danny to take. With a smirk, Danny used his hand and let him lift her light body up and out of the tunnel. Nick quickly replaced the cover exactly as he'd found it as headed down to another steel door. Danny looked around and saw at least fifteen Haunters in dark clothing hanging around. Some were sparring, others were sleeping, and the rest seemed to be staring at Danny with fascination. Rumors of her presence flooded the giant room and soon everyone knew that the newest Prodigy was here.

Danny was thankful for when they slipped through that steel door and into a dark stairwell. There was candlelight at the bottom landing of the stairs. And whispered conversations could be heard from there. One of the two voices was rough and deep, and it had a menacing tone to it. The other one had the same menace, but it was cancelled off by the easy going nature of the man who owned it. Danny heard the ever so familiar scraping of a blade sliding on a sharpening stone. Danny heard a loud thud as something metallic hit the floor just as Nick and her reached the bottom of the stairs and into the light. The conversation stopped, as did the scraping sound of the knife as soon as they stepped foot in the room.

Danny didn't get a chance to get a good look at the two intimidating figures before her. Nick and her stood stock still, and practically slammed their right fists over their hearts in salute and hung their heads in submission to the two undoubtably higher ranking Haunters. Danny heard a chuckle from one of the Haunters as he walked to stand before them. Danny could tell when he turned to the other one to tell him something, but he didn't say a word. Then the sound of the other sharpening his blade continued. Instantly Danny realized that the sound came from above the ground, and it had become more deliberate and menacing this time.

"Nicholas?" The one who stood in front of them said in a strong voice, the voice that had sounded easy-going Danny, "After all this time, you finally come back with a girl?"

The Haunter in front of them and another behind him burst out laughing. Danny glanced at Nick, both blushing slightly. Nick shot an apologetic glance at her then cleared his throat, "Yes sir."

"Oh c'mon, Nick!" The Haunter sounded hurt, "We've known each other all this time, so cut the 'sirs', alright? I have a name, you know."

"Sorry," Nick became his normal, non-formal self instantly, and he went back to a normal posture, "Better safe then sorry, since getting yelled at by you usually ends up with me regretting even coming close to you."

The Haunter chuckled, "Oh good, you haven't forgotten how things work around here."

"How could I forget?" Nick smiled.

"So is this the Prodigy that has graced us with her lovely presence?" The Haunter said with a sarcastic tone that somehow wasn't condescending.

"I am, sir," Danny spoke clearly, having to use part of her alter ego, which she decided on the trip to just call it her "Dark Side", to keep her voice from breaking from nervous fear. She was still bowing her head with her fist over her heart.

"So strong willed, eh?" The Haunter said, "Well, do me a favor will you?"

"What do you wish me to do?" Danny said flatly.

"Let me see your face," The Haunter said, "And after you stop saluting me when you do look at me, never do it again. The salute around here is just the fist, since bowing the head is way too formal for me. Got all that?"

"Yes, sir," Danny said, looking up to the Haunters face and removing her fist from her heart. He had hollow black eyes, and the darkest black shock of hair. His muscles bulged under the plain black t-shirt he wore. He wore the black padded Gear pants and tucked them into his black combat boots like the military did. He had a large jet black Bowie knife on his right thigh that was an inch short of being a machete. There was an easy going aurora that oozed from him, making Danny feel like she could trust him. But there was a flicker of predatory fire behind his eyes that Danny saw that have her a slight chill. He smiled genuinely at her but it turned to a smirk-smile hybrid after about two seconds after Danny looked up. He was tall, probably six feet high, and he stood on edge, like he was begging for an enemy to burst through the door and attack just so he could fight.

"My name is Nathaniel," He said, "And I've heard a lot about you, Shadow."

"Like what?" Danny cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, you don't know your own reputation?" Nathaniel cocked his head, "Huh. Well, I'll sum it up for you. When an Initiate Haunter who does just as good as her mentors on every one of her missions, and kills her own family without hesitation, is pretty impressive. Now, this other you that shows up just when you need it? That really peaks the interest of my brother and I, since he's got the same deal going on with him."

"So I'm impressive to you guys?" Danny asked.

"I haven't seen you in action, but from what I've heard I would love to." He smiled.

"When's that?"

"So impulsive," Nathaniel chuckled, "That's good. C'mon, let me show you."

Nick and Danny followed Nathaniel to a table with a three dimensional map of L.A.

"When did this get here?" Nick asked.

"The year you left, we tortured a human to make it for us, then we compelled him to forget about us all." Nathaniel shrugged, grabbing a stack of papers that looked like schedules.

"Why not just compel him to make it in the first place?" Danny asked.

Nathaniel shrugged, "Just felt like it, I guess. It wasn't a big deal, anyway, we mentally tortured him. Trust me, Shadow, if it had been even close to physical, the guy wouldn't have an arm."

"You are..." Danny trailed off, "Interesting."

Nathaniel laughed, "That's one word for it."

"So what are you going to have her do?" Nick asked.

"Shadow?" Nathaniel turned to Nick, "She'll be going with Savage and I to mess with some of the gangs to get in the spirit of things."

"Ok," Nick was chuckling now, but it sounded nervous, "When 'Savage and I' and 'get into the spirit of things' are in the same sentence from you, that usually ends up with a knife in someones back and his head rolling away from him."

"Glad you didn't forget about how things work," Nathaniel smirked, "But I promise I won't kill a single soul tonight. Good enough?"

"No, actually," Nick said, "Make your silent brother back there promise not to either."

"I'm sorry, brother," Nathaniel looked behind Danny, "I guess we'll just have to settle for the bare minimum tonight."

Danny heard a feral sounding low growl that morphed into a groan of reluctant agreement. She turned around to try and find the source of the sound. On top of one of the armories, twice the size of the ones Danny was used to, was a Haunter sharpening a jet black machete. He had his hood up and a black cloth tied over his face, and he seemed to be staring directly at Danny. He ran the blade across a sharpening stone expertly, hitting just the right angle to get the best sharpening possible. The rasping of sharpening metal covered up his almost silent breathing so much that Danny wandered if he even drew breath. In fact, Danny noticed Nathaniel had been the same way. The Haunter jumped down from the armory and landed with a small thud. He slowly made his way over to Nathaniel's side. He crossed his arms over his chest and stood silently still. Nick tensed once he came into his view, his breathing becoming a tad slower.

"Who are you?" Danny asked.

After a long, dead silence, Nathaniel spoke. "My brother, Savage."

As soon as the name was uttered from Nathaniel's lips, Danny's eyes shot up and she stepped back in shock. Savage chuckled as soon as that happened, spreading his feet to shoulder width apart. Danny stepped back up, looking Savage square where his eyes were under his hood. Savage unraveled his hands from his chest and brought them to the edges of his hood.

"Showing your face within the first few minutes of meeting someone?" Nathaniel sounded amused and shocked. "Unheard of."

"Oh, shut up," A deep voice sounded from Savage, holding menacing amusement, "This girl is just like me, and you know it."

With that, Savage flicked his hood back to reveal dark cobalt blue eyes. He slipped down the cloth from his face to his neck, where it acted like a turtle neck. He had a strong jaw and slightly pronounced cheekbones. He had blond swept spiky hair and a razor-stubble beard. He had the smallest smirk that curled one side of his mouth, but the rest was relaxed and straight. Overall, Savage looked like he was plotting murder with a piercing, meticulous gaze. He was two inches shorter then Nathaniel, but wide and built.

"Shadow, huh?" Savage said, his gaze calculating and intense, "We'll see if you've earned your reputation soon enough. Nathaniel, I know just the place to take this Initiate."

"Oh, good!" Nathaniel seemed elated, "Then I can go killing like I planned! Good luck, brother."

And with that, Nathaniel briskly walked over to his armory, grabbed his jacket and another, smaller knife. After that, he used his vampire speed and went up the stairs instantly.

Savage went to the three D map of LA and motioned for Danny to follow. As Danny and Nick stood on either side of Savage, he drew a small knife from som hidden pocket in his jacket. He used it as a pointer as he indicated a warehouse a mile or two south west of where they were. Savage gave them both a basic run down of the assignment and let them have ten minutes while he finished honing the rest of his blades back on top of his armory. Danny walked up to him cautiously.

"Um," Dany began, "What did you mean by 'she's like me?'"

He stopped mid-stoke and looked at her, "Do you have this Dark Side of you that showed up when you were around 15 and only got worse when you Turned?"

Danny looked at him blankly, "Yeah, I do."

"And how long has it been since you Turned?"

"A month," Danny shrugged, "Why?"

"Let me guess," Savage looked at her in the eye, "You think you'll be able to control your alter ego with just a tad more practice, huh?"

Danny blinked, "How'd you know that?"

"Cause I went through the same thing, and thought the same thing."

"You're talking as if I won't be able to control it," Danny said it as a statement and not a question.

"Oh, you can," Savage grinned, "But it's not that easy. In fact, it will almost kill you."

"What?" Danny blinked, confused.

"You heard me," Savage went back to honing his blade.

"How is it goi-" Danny started but was cut off by Savage.

"The guest armory is the one next to mine, it's got female gear it and about a quarter or an eighth of the weapons I have in my armory. Gear up, Initiate. Sit factum fortuna faciei tuae." (Translation: "May fortune favor your blade.")_  
_

* * *

They arrived at the assignment location as silent as they could. Savage was in his trademark Gear, a jacket that had a diagonal zipper with numerous blades within it. There were blades strapped to his legs and tucked into his boots. Savage, Nick, and Danny all had their hoods up, Savage taking the cloth from his neck and putting it back up on his face. His gear was a leather jacket that had a turtle neck-like collar that rose up to his ears, and his hood had to be wider to compensate for it. He wore a black shirt under his jacket. There was a wide leather strap that came over his left shoulder and went down to his right torso. Attached to that was a jet black sword with an angled blade. Danny was in the standard initiate Gear with her boot and thigh knife, and now she had a hidden blade in a wrist sheath under her sleeve. Nick was in his Gear with his one thigh knife.

"Alright," Nick said, "There it is."

They stopped in front of a warehouse that had a ring of people around a oil drum fire and wearing rags in front of it's entrance. Savage gave a blur of hand signals to Nick, who nodded. The only signal Danny saw that she remembered was: kill. Danny blinked and Savage was gone, and no trace of him was left. That speed told Danny that he must be at least two hundred years old, since any vampire younger Danny would be able to see leave. Savage reappeared in front of the front door and began to knock casually, then he looked at Danny and motioned for her to join him. Danny used her speed and stopped at Savage's right side. The door creaked open.

"Who the hell are you creeps?" A guy with a tattooed face and a cigar jammed between his teeth. He looked up and down Danny with a strange lustful look then tried to peer past the shadows of her hood. But the shadows were designed to cloak the identity of the wearer from vampires, so a mere human could never hope to see through it.

"The muscle." Danny's evil grin was the only thing the man could see, and Danny could tell that he was creeped out by that sight.

"Muscle? You ain't got beef with us, so I would leave now before your heads leave without the rest if you."

"Are you threatening a lady?" Danny smirked so wide that teeth showed, and she was tempted to flash her fangs to scare him out of his wits.

"We are here for a man named Jose Gutierrez. He crossed our order, and it's time for him to pay his debts." Savage's voice was hoarse and sounded like death.

"Jose? Do you kids have a death wish?" The man looked amused, "What? You think that you finally grew in that chin hair you can impress this chick?"

"I may look young, but I've seen more horrors then this entire city," Savage's voice had a warning tone to it, and a menacing edge.

"Fine," The man said, "You want to see Jose, you gotta go through me, tough guy,"

"Which bone do you want me to break first?" Savage smirked just like Danny was, and his razor sharp canines lengthened into fangs.

"Why you little-" Was all the man could get out before he dropped to the ground holding his arm in agony. Savage had appeared behind him and flicked his forearm, snapping one of the two bones. The man rolled over onto his back and looked crazily at Savage, with a mixture of anger and shock.

"What the hell did you just do?" He said through gritted teeth.

"He put you in your place," Danny stated simply, "On the ground before us with your throat exposed."

"Who are you freaks," The man asked.

"He is Savage," Danny said, "And I am Shadow."

"Seriously? What kind if names are those?"

"The kind if names that you get for killing hundreds in cold blood." Danny smirked and extending her fang so it gleamed in the moonlight.

"I don know where you freaks came from, but your both dead, you hear me? Dead!" The man screamed.

"You want to know the bit of irony there, mortal?" Danny cackled evilly.

"Huh?" The man looked confused.

"We are already dead," Danny pulled back her hood to reveal the veins under her blackening eyes thicken and darken. Her ice blue irises remain, as she opened her mouth to show her needle fangs. She added a feral hiss for good measure. The man turned pale and stumbled to his feet, clutching his broken arm. Danny and Savage chuckled evilly as he tripped over the curb and face planted onto the sidewalk before the ware house. He pulled a phone to his ear and called for help quickly and tucked it away again as he crossed the street. But then he stopped in his tracks and stared blankly at the other side of the street.

There, emerging in full Gear, was Nathaniel. He wore plain leather jacket and had his Bowie knife on his thigh in full view. He grinned like a mad man as he slowly and purposefully stepped into the light and to the man. His hood was up and shrouding his face as well.

"Another one?" The man seemed frustrated and fearful now.

"Oh, don't worry," Nathaniel said in a taunting and dreadfully intimating voice that made the man visibly shudder, "We aren't allowed to kill you. Yet, anyway."

"Chickens," The man muttered.

"Do you like those annoying vocal cords where they are?" Nathaniel cocked an eyebrow, "Because I can just rip them from your throat and throw them away for you."

"Wha?" The man sounded terrified but confused at the threat.

"What part of that didn't you get?" Nathaniel sounded truly annoyed, "I swear, every year you people get dumber. Let me spell it out for you: I. Will. Kill. You. If. You. Don't. Shut. Up. And. Take. Us. In. Side. Got it?"

The man nodded and opened the door to the warehouse promptly, letting in the three hooded figures clad in black leather. Nick, Danny realized, was still nowhere to be seen. Danny knew Savage had a plan, and Nick's absence was a part of it, but she still wish she knew where he was.

Nathaniel, Savage, and Danny walked through the warehouse to where a group of gang members sat on a ring of expensive leather furniture with alcohol in their hands. They were speaking and laughing about their latest heists and schemes they had just gotten back from, piles of one hundred dollar bills lay in a pile on the coffee table before who seemed to be the leader. He had two drunk women on either arm, both didn't really have anything covering their bodies except their under wear and bras.

About five feet before they walked from the shadows into the light, the three Haunters stopped and Nathaniel began to slow clamp, "Impressive display, Jose. Getting laid only a year after getting out of the jail is quite the accomplishment for you!"

"Who the hell are you!" Jose rose and bellowed, looking in the general direction of the three vampires.

"You know exactly who we are, Jose," Nathaniel used the same sickly scary voice, "Think hard."

Jose only growled, starting to zero in on where Nathaniel's voice was coming from.

Nathaniel turned to Savage and gave a slight nod, then turned back the Jose, "Maybe this will help you remember."

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Danny saw Savage pull a silver blade from the folds of his jacket and toss it up once before he hurled it end-over-end towards Jose. Since they were still in the shadows when Savage threw the knife, Jose must have only seen the blade appear from no where as it sunk perfectly vertical through a stack of hundreds and into the table with a deep thud. Jose look at the blade only once and then his face went blank with fear. A fear so pure and unadulterated that he paled like a new blood vampire. His gaze swiveled all around the ware house, trying to find Nathaniel. But he didn't have to look far, since Nathaniel, Savage and Danny appeared from the shadows. All three of them had a blank look on their face. The only thing the humans saw was their set jaws and slightly frowning mouths. Except Nathaniel, whom was still grinning like a mad man on drugs, as he cackled evilly.

"Good," Nathaniel said, "You remember now. So, you gonna pay up?"

Jose turned and ran as fast as he could for the nearby exit, his friends not far behind. But as soon as he got close enough, the door blew off its hinges to reveal Nick grinning under his hood. Danny chuckled as the gang members stumbled over each other to try and stop and ended up in a dog pile on top of Jose, who groaned.

"How about this?" Nathaniel grinned, "I let you live, but all this dough goes away and you turn yourself in the the Five-O? Or you can pay your real debt and let me Turn you."

"why do you want to Turn me? You hunt me down for a year because I spied on your weird cult and you want me to join you?"

"I have my reasons," Nathaniel said, "So what'll it be, Jose?"

"I don't want to go back to the pen again..." Jose trailed off.

"Good!" Nathaniel exclaimed, "Come along then. Nick, you know what to do."

"Yes, sir," Nick said, and began compelling the gang members to forget everything that happened that night.

* * *

They arrived back the the West Branch Headquarters within two hours, slipping through the first steel door as dawn appeared on the horizon. Through the tunnels and alleyways the Haunters tugged along the poor and pitiful Jose, who looked as scared as a child in the middle of a horror film. He'd had no shotage of questions through the entire trip, getting on Danny's nerves by the minute. Danny soon wasted up with it a growled Gerald to shut him up.

When that didn't work, she neared her fangs and hissed menacingly. Jose didn't utter another word since, much to Danny's relief. She was taking up the rear, clutching her thigh knife in a reverse grip in her right hand.

As they came to the final ladder that lead to the base, Nathaniel and Savage stepped as side and motioned for Jose to climb. He, though nervously glancing back to Danny to make sure she wouldn't try to stab him, started to climb. Danny was right behind him, climbing with just her left as she kept her knife in her grasp. She heard Savage and Nathaniel start to climb as welol, their heavy combat boots resounding through the rungs of the ladder. Nick rise a second after the two vampires before him started to rise.

As soon as they were all out of the man hole and into the warehouse of the Haunter base, every eye turned to the man trembling in the mist of the four Haunters around him. Some laughed and whispered of how weak he looked, or how dead he was going to be. There were a select few that trued to suppress their moans of hunger at the sight of fresh kill.

"What are they whispering about?" Jose hissed through clenched teeth.

"You," Nathaniel shrugged, "They're not impressed. I mean, your acting like a child who's seen a freaky clown. Then there's the few here that know what you've done and already know what's gonna happen to you."

"What's that?" Jose looked curious suddenly.

"All in due time," Nathaniel grinned evilly.

They continued to a side office apart from the main room of the warehouse and Nick stood guard at the door as they closed the door behind them. Their were two chairs, and a desk in between them. Nathaniel sat behind the desk and Jose sat in the other one. Savage jumpEd up in a blur into the rafters and sat in them like they were tree limbs. Danny jumped up and joined him on the other half of the beam, taking out her portable sharpening stone and began to quietly hone her boot knife. Savage, grinning at how well she was adjusting to West Branch, did the same. They both looked down as the conversation between Nathaniel and Jose ensued.

"So, now that there aren't any others around," Nathanixl said, flipping back his hood I reveal the same crazed mad man like look in his eyes, "I can take this off and you can see the face you trued to see a year ago."

"I-uh," Jose began, "Sorry about that."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Nathaniel grinned mischievously, "All will be righted soon enough."

"Oh," He breathed, "Good."

"Shall we begin?" Nathaniel grinned.

"Yeah," Jose nodded.

Nathaniel, with a flourish, grabbed a shot glass from a drawer under the desk and placed it on the desktop. He closed the drawer then grabbed the glass and tapped it twice on the desk. Danny, out of the corner of her eye, saw Savage slit his wrist and hold it out. The fountain of blood fell perfectly into the glass. It filled the glass up halfway as the wound on Savage's wrist healed. Jose, looking at the glass the whole time, shivered.

"Bottoms up," Nathaniel said, placing the glass firmly in front of Jose.

"Yeah," Jose said, trembling as he grabbed the shot glass.

He stared down at the blood in the glass, sloshing it around just like Danny remembered doing before she drank it. He brought the glass to his lips quickly, so that he couldn't change his mind, and drank it all at once as if it really were a shot. Danny, with her ultra hearing, listened as the fluid slid down his throat. She grinned, knowing what was going to happen next.

"Well," Nathaniel sighed, rising from his chair. "Now for the fun part."

He blurred around the table and in front of Jose and gripped his neck. He lifted him by his neck a few inches off the ground, Jose grasping at his arm with both of his in protest. Nathaniel, his grin never wavering, simply by flexing only his thumb, snapped Jose's neck with ease. Nathaniel dropped him back in the chair and pick up the shot glass Jose had dropped and placed it back on the desk.

"What'd you think, brother?" Nathaniel looked up into the rafters. "Was that impressive in anyway at all?"

"I'll say," Danny muttered, wandering how strong you'do have to be to only flex your thumb to snap a neck with as much ease as he had.

"To Shadow?" Savage asked. "Yes, I think you made your point."

"Good," Nathaniel said turning to Danny, "Shadow, I have a question."

"Yes?" Danny replied.

"Has there been any point in your new life where you honestly felt scared or weak in any way?"

"No, I haven't." Danny said firmly.

"And is it true you are a Prodigy like my brother?" Nathaniel pressed.

Danny turned to Savage, who nodded his approval, then back to Nathaniel, "Yes."

"Then I accept your transfer into the West Branch, but on one condition," Nathaniel said.

"What is it?"

"That you show Savage how much you've progressed so I know what division to put you in," He said.

"Deal," Danny smiled.

"Do you know what that means, Shadow?" Savage said, putting away his sharpening stone and sheathing his blade.

"What?"

"That you'll be taking the blood oath after I'm through evalutating you. You'll be a full member."

Danny was silent as she and Savage dropped to the concrete floor simutaniously and walked through out of the office where Jose's dead dody lay in the chair before the desk.


	9. Revelations

The cool night air whipped past Danny's face as she stood on the ledge of the roof of the Haunter warehouse. It had been three days since her encounter with Jose, and already Danny had settled into a routine in the compound. She memorized every inch of the place, training whenever she could. She was given a patrol area from ten in the morning till five in the afternoon. She would shower, feed from a blood bag, then get on with her training.

She honed her skills, sparring with other Haunters in hand-to-hand, then with knives. She even tried out a sword or two. Every time she trained, she improved immensely. But she knew that the skill Savage would have must be infinite. She saw him training just as much as she did. Him and Nathaniel both. They would take turns throwing dummies at one another for target practice. Savage, pulling blades from every book and cranny if his clothes and body, was a blur with blades sails end-over-end straight into each and every targets head. Nathaniel simply used his fists to send every dummy sailing away, and his speed to move on to the next target.

Danny figured out that her technique was closer to Savage's but not to his extent. She was up to about seven blades hidden in her jacket, on her belt, her thighs, her boots, and a sword to her back at times. She knew that Savage had many more then her, but most were throwing knives, which Danny was thinking if adding to her arsenal once she learned to do it properly. She also knew that there was no way she would need as many knives as she had on her, but she thought one day he would need the back ups. And with them all over her body, there was always a blade within quick draw range.

Danny snapped out of her revere and looked over the dying lights of Los Angeles as dawn began to break, and knew she would have to leave in five minutes. The daylight felt warming to her skin as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She turned and walked back into the catwalks of the warehouse.

They were a good four to five stories up, slightly rusting from neglect. But that's four to five stories away from curious Haunters, whom Danny didn't feel comfortable being around. Danny'a boots clanged slightly against the catwalks walkway as she made her way to her hammock. Hanging directly over the floor below, her hammock had beams on either side. On those beams, she's strapped a dresser to one, and laid her spare blades on it. It was an impressive place to sleep, Danny knew, and she thanked God that she had gotten over her fear of heights a day or two before she Turned.

Danny got on to her hammock and closed her eyes. She breathed softly and quietly. Today was her evaluation day by Savage. She knew she was as ready as she would ever be, but she didn't feel ready. She saw the skills Savage had, how brutal and precise he was in combat. She Found herself comparing herself to Savage and only felt weak. If her evaluation was sparring with Savage then she was screwed.

Chatter from the loins den of a warehouse came up to Danny's ears, and she decided to just relax and listen to it to take her mind off of her worries.

"Shadow's evaluation is today," A Haunter whispered.

"I can't wait to see how she'll do," Said another.

"I have to patrol again tonight," grumbled a girl.

"So? You slacked last month," Replied an annoyed Haunter.

Many other useless conversations continued on as Danny looked down and read a Haunters watch from her hammock. She had an hour. She got up and checked her seven blades. Satisfied, Danny vaulted over the guardrail and plummeted down to the floor. Landing perfectly, with the silence of shadows, Danny rose and turned to exit the warehouse. Whispers of awe and jealousy spread like wild fire the instant after she turned from the crowd.

Danny slipped into the tunnels and into the catacombs under the warehouse to truly escape the noise of her new home. She walked for hours, it seemed, through the winding maze that she somehow memorized. Her steps echoed through three times, her breath became mist in front of her face. She wandered what she drank or did that had warmed her body enough for her to see her breath, but then decided it wasn't really important.

A loud thud suddenly echoed through the catacombs from every direction, making it impossible for Danny to tell where it came from. Danny realized that she didn't flinch like she used to when a sudden noise reached her ears. Instead, she was semi-crouching with a blade in each hand, one a throwing knife at the ready and the other her thigh knife. She glanced down both ends of the hall she was in and waited for whoever was coming. She knew she was being jumpy, but she also knew it was better off being over-prepared then target practice. She scoffed at her situation.

Then it happened. She saw her attacker was using his exceptional vampire speed to barrel down the hallway towards her. She reacted only on instinct. She basically watched her body deal with the situation. She threw the knife from her right hand at the attacker, but it sailed uselessly an inch away from his face and into the wall. The attackers hand went for her throat. She pivoted, grabbing the wrist of her attacker and bringing her shoulder to his. She flipped him over her shoulder, using his momentum, and slammed him so hard into the ground that cracks formed beneath him. She felt her Dark Side take over when she had time to think, and welcomed it openly. Then she turned her attention to her attacker.

* * *

Unfazed, the attacker drew a blade from his jacket and sunk it into Danny's arm. But the shock was evident on his face when Danny's reaction was the most murderous glare possible. He saw her sharp fangs extend slowly, toying with him as she pinned him to the ground. Danny's eye's were the thing that really made him pale with fear, real fear. Her eyes weren't the majestic ice blue he first saw, not at all. Her eyes were an evil red, a shade lighter then blood. Hatred oozed from her gaze and paralyzed him. He tried in vain to move his other hand to grab his other knife, but it lay limply at his side. The other hand, gripping the knife that he'd sunk into her arm, gripped the hilt so tightly his knuckles lost all color.

"And who might you be?" She hissed menacingly.

"You'll find out soon enough." was all the attacker could say before an all too familiar hand appeared over Danny's shoulder and clapped down.

She spun arond and sunk her blade into Savage's chest out if reflex. Savage, looking confused, but then amused behind his usual menacing mask. Savage simply placed his hand on top of Danny's hand and slid the knife out of his stomach. He let go and her hand fell limply to her side as she stood in confusion before him.

"You pass part two of your evaluation, Shadow," Savage said in monotone.

"Part two?" Danny said after a few moments of shocked silence, "What was part one?"

"I wanted to see what you do in your spare time, to see if you made good use of your time." He answered, nodding to the Haunter at Danny's feet for him to leave. He was gone in the blink of an eye.

"Wait, you watched me?" Danny felt a little conflicted about the thought of such a deadly Haunter following her for three days without her noticing at all.

"Yes," Savage replied, then he turned to head back to the base, "Come on, we have things to do."

Danny nodded and followed Savage back to the warehouse without a word. During the time it took for them to reach the base, she found herself thinking of what the next part of her evaluation would be. A worded test? A skill show? Performance tests? But those questions were answered when they met up with Nathaniel and began to head towards a car with tempered glass. They were leaving the base for a place where Nathaniel would test her. And the only thing Nathaniel cared for, Danny knew from watching him, was fighting. He was going to fight with her.

As they drove through LA to the desert like areas beyond the city limits, Danny was thinking about how she was ever going to impress a vampire like Nathaniel. She knew he mainly used brute force with a form of technique to make the most of his strikes, but that was all he needed to do. He never really used weapons, and was so unbelievably string that he would probably never need them. Danny would probably just have to use that to her advantage somehow.

* * *

They suddenly pulled to the side of the road. Savage and Nathaniel got out of the car, Danny right behind them. It was night finally now. They were in an abandoned district of some distant city.

Danny, Nathaniel, and Savage walked into the abandoned district. Danny looked around, slightly nervous about fighting Nathaniel, she's heard his reputation after all, and knows it's just the tip of the iceberg. And not to mention Savage, her mentor, is going to be watching the entire time.

"Well, we're here." Nathaniel says as he suddenly stops in the middle of a field. "So what weapons are you going to use?" Nathaniel asks Danny as he pops his neck, knuckles and starts stretching.

Danny looks at her trusty boot knife and unsheates it, "I think this'll do."

"We'll begin whenever you're ready. Well, let's see if this itty bitty Shadow can actually give me a challenge." He finishes with a smile.

Danny mood changes as she let her Dark Side take over and launches at Nathaniel. She stabs deep into his heart, but he isn't even fazed as he smacks her away. She goes flying, and does a backflip, lands and skids backwards as Nathaniel pulls out his knife. Danny knew Nathaniel wasn't known for throwing knives, or if he even had any skill with it at all. So she runs at him with her vampire speed, readying her blade for his blow. Danny was shocked as he chucked it at her, the handle striking her in her sternum, shattering it and making her do a back flip again. But this time she lands on her stomach, groaning in pain but instantly forgetting it. Danny looks up just in time for Nathaniel's boot to kick her in the chin and she flies through a building, which then crumbles on top of her, burying her in rubble.

"You sure she's a prodigy? She's being weak, like a little human girl."  
Nathaniel asks Savage as he starts to pick up and throw away rubble.

"That's because you're not starting easy on her, idiot." Savage says as he's laying down on another building and is repeatedly tossing and then catching a throwing knife.

Nathaniel throws away some rubble and suddenly his head is knocked up, blood flying up from his nose. Before he can react, Danny buried her fist into Nathaniel's abdomen. He bends over because of the force, and Danny grabbed the back of his head, reeling back her leg. Then, with all the might she can muster, Danny kneed him in the face.

Nathaniel goes flying, but does a backwards handsprings and lands with his feet shoulder width apart. He sports the biggest grin Danny had ever seen. He starts to chuckle, rolling his neck and cracking his knuckles. His and Danny's wounds slowly start to heal as they both stare at each other. Danny's eyes flicker between red and ice blue as she tries to keep here anger under control.

"I think you pissed her off," Savage says looking at Nathaniel, then turning to Danny, "I think you made him happy...You're screwed."

Nathaniel looked at Danny and punched a hole clean through her stomach. She coughed up blood before clenching her teeth. Danny would not allow herself to lose so easily to him. Her eyes flickered red then back to blue again. Trying to pull herself off, Danny hissed ferally with effort. But she doesn't have to try long as Nathaniel used his other arm to smack her off of him.

As she tumbles and then shakedly stands, the hole starts to slowly close.

"Hey Shadow, guess what?!"

She's slightly puzzled and then raises her eyebrow, "What?"

Nathaniel evilly smiles, "I was only going about half percent, ready for the full thing?"

Danny's face went blank before she regains her determined expression. Scowling in defiance.

Nathaniel launched at her and, in a blur, delivered about 10 punches to her abdomen and about 6 to her face. But she recovered, shutting out the blinding pain, and sent a roundhouse kick to his head. As Nathaniel leaned to his left to dodge, Danny jumped up and delivered another roundhouse to Nathaniel, driving his head into the ground. As Danny starts to succumb to gravity, she drives both of her feet into Nathaniel's head, drilling him about 3 feet into the ground. Danny jumped off of him, but, to her surprise, feels Nathaniel's vise-like grip as he grabs her ankle and slams her into the ground. He keeps on going until both her arms and her other leg are shattered. As Danny lay there, writhing in pain before she becomes numb, Nathaniel brutally stomps on her chest. Danny coughed up a fountain of blood.

"I don't like people's feet touching me." Danny growled. Her eyes turned red completely this time and stayed that way for a few seconds.

Nathaniel pushes down breaking all of her ribs and sternum.

"Get up, Initiate! Prove your worth!"

"Be careful what you wish for." Danny growled, letting her eyes turn red and gave into her Dark Side. _Won't be long now, Danielle, _a ghostly version of Danny's voice resounded in her head, startling her. Danny shrugged off the weird occurrence and let her instincts take over. She felt her wound instantly heal, freeing her from the pain. Strength flowed through her as if her blood was made if it. She smirked.

Danny grabbed Nathaniel's ankle and twisted it, breaking it in the process. She then pushed him off and rushed him. Hissing in anger Danny punched his head and then grabbed his wrist, judo throwing him and making him land on his butt. She grabbed his arm and got him into an armbar. Danny pulled as hard as she could and broke his arm with a sickening crunch. But Nathaniel just ignores his broken arm as he grabbed her, not letting her go from his monster grip, and slammed her into the ground.

As she lays there, a broken spine keeping her from getting up, Nathaniel reached down and squeezed her neck. it snapped instantly like a twig.

"Brother." Nathaniel said, resetting his broken arm as it slowly healed.

"Yes?" Savage suddenly appeared behind Nathaniel, still flipping his knife casually.

"That was fun," Nathaniel turned to Savage, grinning with a mischievous joy.

"Good to hear," Savage shrugged.

"So, she really is one of you," Nathaniel said knowingly.

"Yes, but she's a special case just like me." Savage said.

"Then she's..." Nathaniel trailed off.

"From my bloodline," Savage finished, nodding.

"How?"

"She's my niece five or six generations down. So she's more like a sister really." Savage shrugged.

"When are we going to drop that bombshell on her?" Nathaniel said, throwing the unconscious Danny onto his shoulders.

"You'll know, brother," Savage said, and disappeared with his vampire speed. Nathaniel, grumbling, hiked all the way back to the car. He placed Danny's body in the passenger seat and slipped behind the wheel. He jammed his foot onto the gas and flew down the toad back to LA.

* * *

Danny woke up in her hammock without a scratch on her body. That meant she was out cold long enough for her entire body to heal, which meant about three hours. A quick glance at the clock on the ground next to a dozing Haunter confirmed her guess. Danny rolled her neck, making sickening cracking sounds from its unusual stiffness. She knew, though barely accepted it, that she had been killed in her battle with Nathaniel. She'd basically watched from the sidelines in her mind as her Dark Side took over and attacked Nathaniel despite the blinding pain from her shattered skeleton.

"Well," A familiar voice spoke from the catwalk at the foot of her hammock, "Time to go, princess. Savage wants a word with you in the Office."

"Princess?" Danny scoffed at Nathaniel, "It's Shadow."

"Whatever," Nathaniel shrugged, "C'mon. You don't really want to keep brother waiting..."

Danny blinked and nodded. She was wearing her gear pants and boots with a black tank top. She strapped all the hip and thigh blades she had, then slipped on her gears jacket. She took her twelve throwing knives and slid them into the various hidden sheaths on her body. One new thing that Danny found left for her was a jet black scarf-like cloth exactly like Savage's. Danny wrapped it around her neck like a scarf then took the large amount of extra and wrapped it around her face from her nose down. It would, just like Savage, cover up any skin not cloaked in shadow from the hood.

Danny rose, and jumped over the edge of her hammock. She landed just as lightly as before, but the thundering landing of Nathaniel accompanied her entrance. Every eye glanced their way, initiates and Haunters alike, as they strode towards the other side of the warehouse. Though Danny hood wasn't down, the cloth around her face and the intense, intimidating look in her eyes did the same effect on the entire warehouse of Haunters. Except Nathaniel and Savage, of course.

"You hear that?" Nathaniel whispered into her ear, "You her that? Your the talk of the town."

"Yeah, I have," tuning out the ensuing gossip about her.

They broke through the door tithe office where Nathaniel interrogated Jose. Danny found they had killed Jose as soon as he Turned. Apparently, they couldn't punish humans, or they could just torture him more since he could be killed over and over again and be revived. Danny shrugged off the thought and turned her gaze to Savage, who was sitting where Nathaniel had.

"Well," Savage began, "Shadow, you've passed my evaluation with flying colors."

Danny was relieved, "Thank you, sir."

"The Oath Ceremony will be tonight," Savage said, "You'll be wearing your gear and weapons. You take a blood oath to every Haunter here. All twenty other Initiates that have completed their training will be going before you. There are about twenty-five full members currently here, and they will be in a line and you take a blood oath in the order they are in. Got that?"

Danny nodded and turned to leave but then stopped, "What did you two talk about while I was out?"

Savage blinked and cocked an eyebrow, "You."

"What about me?" Danny asked.

"We'll talk about this later," Savage gave her a stern look, and she left.

Danny found a clock and found she had four hours until midnight. She checked her sheaths subconsciously to make sure she had brought everything with her. Satisfied, she continued to the training rooms. She got glances again from the Haunters lounging in the main area of the warehouse. She could tell the initiates for the full members easily, since the new bloods(Savage and Nathaniel's word for initiates or newly Turned vampires) where messing around and drinking and laughing. Sometimes all at the same time. Meanwhile the actual Haunters were drinking, but they had a weariness to them. Like they expected an attack of human hunters to bust through the skylights an high windows with vervain darts and vervain-water guns.

There was one Haunter new blood whose eyes linger on Danny, like he'd like to talk to her but is hesitant to do so. Danny shrugged off his gaze and finally made it to the training room. She drilled herself on throwing knives, hand-to-hand, and even a bit with a sword. The Haunters manning the dummies ran out if energy before she did, all of the targets they've thrown being impaled by a blade. Danny worked on her technique with her blades. It was close to Savage, whom relied on throwing knives with pinpoint accuracy, in that she first used her throwing knives but then she would go in with her boot knife and run them through.

Before she knew it, Danny had dummies piled next to her and fifteen minutes until she would show for the Ceremony. She retrieved all for her blades quickly an sheathed them all. She calmly exited the training room and strode over the the center if the main area of the warehouse. A large crowd had gathered around a line of Haunters with Gear on and hoods up. Before them stood the twenty other graduating new bloods. Danny made her way to them and lined up in the last slot. She stood stock still, moving only to adjust the cloth on her face so it wouldn't slip off.

Again, though a smaller amount, gossip of her began. Danny rolled her ice blue eyes and waited for the Ceremony to begin.

Nathaniel raised a fist and the entire warehouse plummeted into silence. Then he spoke, "Tonight, we welcome these vampires into our order. They have proven themselves worthy of the title we strive to honor. The title of 'Night Haunter'. Step forward, new bloods, and seal your eternal loyalty to your new brothers and sister."

Then they, one by one, the new bloods before her went down the line of Haunters and sliced open their palms for each and every one. The Haunters did the same and they clasped hands with the new blood, completing the oath. It took a good twenty or thirty minutes until it was Danny's turn.

The twenty-three Haunters before Nathaniel and Savage were if no concern to her really. Their oaths were quick, a simple gash with welled up blood and handshake as the blood mixed. She nodded her thanks for their approval and moved on until she reached Nathaniel. Savage was right next to him, hood up and cloth covering his face like Danny was. Danny slid her blade across her right palm, and Nathaniel did the same. They clasped hands and Danny saw something in his eyes that she never would have thought to be there: acceptance, and maybe even...the love that is reserved for a sibling? He was trying to hide it, but Danny could read people like books these days, and she nodded her thanks and moved on to Savage, shaking off what she'd seen for now.

She stepped in front of Savage. Though she really wasn't sure how she really felt towards Savage, he was her mentor and she respected him out of his reputation at the very least. Se didn't even notice the sting this time as she cut into her open hand. Blood welled once again in her palm as Savage did the same. But the instant tier blood mixed with Savage's she blacked out. She didn't really feel like she blacked out.

She fainted and blinked then found herself in a desert with a black sky and featureless landscape. There was a girl with her though, waiting just a few yards away in a folding chair. The girl was a spitting image of Danny, the same slightly curled hart black hair with the blood red streak dyed into those curls. She had the same flattering figure and sleek, beautiful face. Her bangs covered up half her face though, just as Danny had absently been doing to draw less attention to herself. She wore the gear of a Night Haunter. The boots, the pants, and a black tank top. But they were in shreds, exposing her midriff and legs a little too much then Danny would have cared for. The cloths condition, along with her ashen skin from being a relatively new vampire made her look like a ghost. But instead of her eyes being their characteristic ice blue, this other Danny's eyes were an eerily frightening red. She looked like the Demon version of Danny.

Then it hit her. This had to be Danny Dark Side, the part if her that had earned the title of 'Shadow'. Where was she? Why was her Dark Side staring at her like that? What was going on?

"Hello, Danielle," Dark Danny said with a menace that could compare with Savage, "Nice to finally meet my other half face to face."

"Where are we?" Danny asked.

"Your mind," Dark Danny said, "Or your soul. I'm not too sure. But that's not important. Right now, I've got some explaining to do."

"About what?"

"You of course," Dark Danny shrugged

"What about me?"

"Do you know what you are, Danielle?" Her Dark side asked.

"Um a Prodigy?" Danny asked.

"And do you know what that means?"

"No," Danny answered.

Her Dark Side chuckled, "Prodigies are cursed vampires. Long ago, a vampire ripper was terrorizing the world. Clearing whole villages of people within days, sometimes hours. Witches needed to stop him before he slaughtered the entire world, so they laid a curse on him. The curse took his inner Ripper and separated it from his soul to create two souls in him. One was the sensible side, and the other was a ruthless killer. The curse was that the inner Ripper would destroy him from the inside, that he would be driven mad so much that he'd off himself basically. But that didn't happen. He merely merged back with his inner self by becoming as ruthless and deadly as it was, it pained his good side, but he had decided that it would be better to be in control, alive, but only a quarter as pure hearted as once was. It worked, and the witches sought another way to have him a tone for his sins. So they cursed his bloodline. Since he left a pregnant wife behind when he had become a vampire after he was murdered, the witches cursed the baby the same as they did its father. But they weren't cruel. The curse would only activate when the cursed Turned. The vampire ripper eventually found out about this, but not before his blood line had increased so much that it would be impossible to hunt them all down and make sure that they would never Turn and face the same decision he had."

"And your telling me this why?" Danny said, intrigued with the story and curious to hear more.

"Because I'm your Inner Ripper," Dark Danny said.

Danny blinked, "I'm a descendant of this Ripper guy?"

Dark Danny nodded, "Eventually he found the Haunters shortly after they formed and joined them along with his friend, so close they simply were known as brothers regardless of bloodline. This friend was an Original Haunter, one of the first. He'd found the Ripper about two hundred years after he Turned himself. This friend of his was, and still is, obsessed with strength. He is strong enough to make up for the speed and deadliness that came with being a Prodigy. Anyways, the two vampires started to use their legendary skills for a good cause and have been doing it ever since. That's the summed up version of the history of your bloodlines curse."

"Why are we called 'Prodigies'?" Danny asked.

"Because when you are a new blood you still have enough raw talent and skill that you give trained Haunters a run for their money. And you know that's saying something. You get that strength from your Ripper side, me. But if you were to somehow convince me to let you use all of my power, then it would exponentially multiply, and you'd be as strong as the Ripper I talked about just now. But I am not feeling like your ready for that just yet. I'm still going to need proof, Danielle, proof that you are worth to wield that power. Got it?"

"Yeah, whatever," Danny shrugged, "What proof do you need to see?"

"It would be too easy if I told you," Dark Danny grinned, "But don't worry, you'll know what it will be when you see it. Or do it."

"What'a happening outside right now? Am I blacked out on the floor in front of Savage?" Danny asked suddenly.

"You'll find out soon enough. Oh, a few more things. If you fail at my test, I reserve the right to kill you for being too weak. If you wish to speak with me, I'll be right here. And if you want to come back here from some peace and quiet to chat with your self, me, then all you gotta do is ask and I can make it happen. But I do t know why your want to come back here."

"Ok, got it," Danny muttered, "Now how do I get out?"

"Just like this," Dark Danny said, and snapped her fingers and pointed to her head. Danny rolled her eyes and thought hard to leave and blacked out just like before.

* * *

Danny blinked awake in Nathaniel's arms. He was behind her with his enormous arms holding her still. Everyone, except Savage, was either laying unconscious with a blade in their body or holding their gushing wounds and breathing raggedly. They all looked like they'd been through a war, blood coating their shredded clothes. Danny looked down at her body, there were several stab wounds and cuts. Her clothes were so like her inner Ripper that she wanted to faint. Her midriff and legs were showing just like her Dark had them showing. Her jacket had been torn off somehow and she was left with her torn tank top, pants and boots. She was panting, and looking at Nathaniel's arms. There was a long gash that ran from his wrist to the elbow with the blade still impaling his arm at the end of the wound.

"Brother," Nathaniel said simply, "You have a Hell of a job ahead of you."

Savage shrugged then looked Danny in the eyes, "Shadow, looks like we need to finish up that conversation we stopped at the Office."

"Oh, Hell yeah, you do," was all Danny could breath out before she fell asleep from exhastion.


End file.
